ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Departmental Billing

Oliver Heald: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of invoices from small and medium-sized businesses were paid by the Law Officers' Departments within five working days of receipt in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Edward Garnier: The Law Officers' Departments do not currently record or publish information about the size of suppliers as this does not fully reflect the number and size of businesses engaged in the supply chain for goods and services. They also do not discriminate by size of business because many small and medium enterprises can be found within larger supply chains.
	The following table shows the proportion of invoices, from businesses of all sizes, paid by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) within five working days of receipt in the last 12 months for which information is available:
	
		
			 Percentage of invoices paid in five days 
			  CPS SFO 
			 June 2010 26 29 
			 July 2010 23 10 
			 August 2010 32 22 
			 September 2010 43 11 
			 October 2010 38 16 
			 November 2010 35 11 
			 December 2010 31 12 
			 January 2011 28 9 
			 February 2011 29 5 
			 March 2011 35 27 
			 April 2011 16 n/a 
			 May 2011 23 n/a 
		
	
	The Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol) target is to pay undisputed invoices within 30 days from receipt and the Department does not hold any data on the numbers which were paid within five working days and could obtain such information only at a disproportionate cost. Records show that around 87% of all invoices were paid within 30 days in the last 12 months.
	TSol is also responsible for processing invoices for the Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and figures for both organisations are included in the TSol records.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Alternative Vote: Referendums

Nigel Dodds: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the cost to the public purse was of holding the referendum on the alternative vote in Northern Ireland.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the Northern Ireland Office identified that a budget of £2.5 million was likely to be required by the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland to conduct the referendum on the parliamentary voting system. The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland will submit a claim to the Electoral Commission for its actual costs by 5 January 2012.
	In addition to the expenditure by the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland, public awareness expenditure by the Electoral Commission on Northern Ireland specific campaigns was £200,000.

JUSTICE

Archway Tower

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the length is of his Department's lease on Archway Tower, N19, in respect of (a) the Office of the Public Guardian and (b) the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service; and at what annual cost;
	(2)  what plans he has for the future use of Archway Tower, N19.

Kenneth Clarke: The leases for both the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and the Children and Family Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) are due to expire on 24 March 2015. The annual cost for the rent and rates for each of the leases is as follows:
	(1) OPG: £968,000
	(2) CAFCASS: £148,000
	The Ministry of Justice intends to vacate Archway Tower by the lease break date of 24 March 2012 as part of the work to rationalise its administrative estate.

Departmental Translation Services

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to (a) the court service and (b) his Department of the translation of information from English into other languages in each of the last three financial years.

Jonathan Djanogly: The cost of translation of information from English into other languages in the financial years 2008-09 and 2009-10 is shown in the following table. The information for 2010-11 will be available after the departmental annual resource accounts have been completed and audited.
	
		
			 £000 
			  2008-09 2009-10 
			 Ministry of Justice 388 265 
			 HM Courts Service 139 137 
			 Tribunals Service 53 49 
			 Office of the Public Guardian(1) 25 25 
			 National Offender Management Service(2) 966 1,580 
			 (1) Figures for the Office of Public Guardian are an estimate of the translation component within a wider category of expenditure. (2) This figure includes translation costs as well as interpretation costs. The amounts are not separately recorded and can be disaggregated only at disproportionate cost. Additionally, the NOMS figure excludes expenditure by the National Probation Service which is held locally by 42 probation boards and trusts who use separate and different accounting systems. Information could be determined only at disproportionate cost through examination of local records.

Prisoners’ Release

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were given new identities on release from prison in each of the last 10 years.

Crispin Blunt: There are a number of ways in which offenders may adopt or acquire a new identity on release from prison, ranging from the use of a pseudonym, to a change of name by deed poll to a full national identity change.
	Information on the number of offenders who have been given a full national identity change on release from prison is not held centrally. To provide such information may put certain individuals at risk and would likely incur disproportionate cost.
	Individuals who have been given a full national identity change are managed by the local police force for the area in which they reside. There is no distinction between those subject to national identity change on release from prison or those who are subject to it for other reasons.
	A national identity change is given to some high risk individuals who are assessed as requiring management as 'protected persons'. Most of such individuals have assisted in the prosecution of others.
	Where offenders adopt a pseudonym or change their name by deed poll or are given a national identity change, they continue to be managed as offenders and are required to comply with their licence conditions and other instructions given by their supervising officer.

Young Offenders

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many persons aged between 18 and 21 years when convicted for (a) murder or (b) manslaughter and subsequently released on licence were recalled to custody following (i) a further offence and (ii) a breach of the licence in each of the last 10 years.

Crispin Blunt: There were 19 offenders aged between 18 and 21 years when convicted for murder and subsequently released on licence who were recalled to custody following a breach of licence conditions in 2010. Of these, four had committed a further offence.
	During 2010, no offenders aged between 18 and 21 years old at conviction were recalled to custody while on licence for manslaughter.
	Detailed data on recalls before 2010 are not held centrally in an electronic format. A manual trawl of prisoner files would be required to obtain these data; this would incur disproportionate cost.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Capita

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many contracts her Department has awarded to Capita since May 2010; and what the (a) monetary value and (b) net worth was of each contract.

Damian Green: Since May 2010 the Home Office and its Executive agencies have awarded one contract to Capita Resourcing Ltd to provide interim personnel. The value of this contract was £45,358 and this amount has now been spent.

Counter-terrorism: Finance

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evaluation her Department has carried out on the work of organisations supported by Prevent Strategy funding between June 2007 and June 2009.

James Brokenshire: The Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT) commissioned two evaluations of Prevent funded initiatives in 2008. One was of the processes and procedures of community intervention projects. This covered financial and business management, governance, methodology and activities. It was not an evaluation of the impact or the effectiveness of interventions in preventing radicalisation but the results were used to inform decision making about the continuation of funding to projects. The second was a process evaluation of Channel, undertaken on behalf of OSCT by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) The results of this evaluation contributed to the national Channel guidance published in March 2010. For reasons of confidentiality these evaluations have not been published.

Counter-terrorism: Finance

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the name is of each organisation previously provided with funding under the Prevent Strategy which will receive no further funding on the grounds that it espouses extremist views.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office does not intend to name organisations that will no longer receive further funding because to do so could breach confidentiality. If organisations do not support the values of democracy, human rights, equality before the law and participation in society, then we will not fund them.

Counter-terrorism: Finance

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what projects were undertaken by organisations provided with funding under the Prevent Strategy between June 2007 and June 2009.

James Brokenshire: During this period funding was provided under the Prevent strategy to public sector and community organisations for a wide range of projects. These included awareness raising, training courses, the Channel scheme and interventions for individuals vulnerable to radicalisation.

Counter-terrorism: Finance

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the name is of each organisation provided with funding under the Prevent Strategy between June 2007 and June 2009; where each such organisation was located; and how much each such organisation received and for what period.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office does not intend to name or identify the location of each organisation funded under the Prevent strategy because to do so would breach confidentiality. Home Office total funding (including funding to the police) was £47 million in 2009-10 and £37 million in 2010-11.

Counter-terrorism: Finance

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what process the views and values of organisations will be assessed in determining allocation of Prevent Strategy funding.

James Brokenshire: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has written to local authorities, police services and other delivery partners to set out the principles they should apply so that Prevent funds do not go to extremist organisations. The detailed procedures to assess organisations are still being developed and will be provided to partners once finalised.

Deportation: Offenders

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with which countries the UK has an agreement to automatically deport foreign prisoners to their country of origin once they have been released from custody.

Damian Green: The UK does not have any agreements with any countries to automatically deport foreign prisoners from the UK at the end of their custodial sentence. Individuals are considered on a case by case basis.
	There are no countries to which the Government have a blanket approach of not returning foreign national prisoners.
	The UK Border Agency seeks to deport from the UK foreign national offenders who meet the following criteria:
	A court recommendation.
	For non-European Economic Area nationals—a custodial sentence of 12 months or more either in one sentence, or as an aggregate of two or three sentences over a period of five years or a custodial sentence of any length for a drug offence (an offence other than possession only).
	For EEA nationals—a custodial sentence of 12 months or more for an offence involving drugs, violent or sexual crimes or a custodial sentence of 24 months or more for other offences.

Domestic Violence

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police forces provide portable alarms to domestic abuse victims; and what the cost of such provision was in the last 12 months.

Nick Herbert: The provision of portable alarms is a decision for each police force. We do not collect this information centrally.

Drugs

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the level of co-operation between the Government and the Government of the Irish Republic in tackling web drug sales.

James Brokenshire: Officials from the Drugs and Alcohol Unit liaise with colleagues from the Irish Republic on the issue of web drug sales, particularly regarding the sale of new psychoactive substances. Discussions have been held and information shared at working level meetings of the British Irish Council and at the Horizontal Drugs Group in Brussels.

Hunting Act 2004

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) prosecutions, (b) fines and (c) cautions there were for breaches of the Hunting Act 2004 in each police force area in 2010.

Crispin Blunt: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of offenders cautioned, and the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts, found guilty, sentenced and fined at all courts, by police force area in England and Wales, 2010, for offences under the Hunting Act 2004 can be viewed in the table.
	
		
			 Offenders cautioned, and defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts, found guilty and fined at all courts, under the Hunting Act 2004, by police force area  (1)  , England and Wales, 2010  (2, 3) 
			 Force Cautioned Proceeded against Found guilty Sentenced Of which: Fined 
			 Avon and Somerset — 1 1 1 1 
			 Cheshire — 1 — — — 
			 Cleveland 3 2 — — — 
			 Cumbria — 1 1 1 1 
			 Essex — 3 — — — 
			 Hertfordshire — 1 1 1 1 
			 Humberside — 8 8 8 8 
			 Kent — 5 5 5 5 
			 Lancashire 3 2 2 2 2 
			 Merseyside — 1 1 1 1 
			 North Yorkshire 1 14 9 9 9 
			 Nottinghamshire — 2 2 2 1 
			 South Yorkshire — 1 1 1 — 
			 Surrey 2 2 1 1 — 
			 Thames Valley 1 — — — — 
			 West Yorkshire — 3 3 3 3 
			 Wiltshire — 2 1 1 1 
			 North Wales 1 — — — — 
			 Total England and Wales 11 49 36 36 33 
			 (1) Only those police force areas are shown in the table where data are given. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Identity and Passport Office: Liverpool

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Liverpool Passport Office staff recruited under the Friends and Family Scheme were recruited after March 2009.

Damian Green: All 14 of the staff recruited under the Liverpool Friends and Family scheme from 2008 were appointed between 30 March 2009 and 22 March 2010.

Identity and Passport Office: Newport

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the remaining posts at Newport Passport Office are open to applications from all staff based in Newport.

Damian Green: holding answer 5 July 2011
	The majority of staff currently employed at the Newport Passport Office will be able to apply for the remaining posts. A small number of staff based in Newport work for the Identity and Passport Service HQ team. They are not eligible for the new posts as their current roles are not at risk.

Illegal Immigrants

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants have been (a) found and (b) deported from a residence in (i) Worcestershire and (ii) Redditch in the last five years.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency arrested three individuals over the last five financial years, for all immigration offences, on enforcement visits to addresses identified as residential, located in Redditch and, separately, in Worcestershire outside Redditch. Of those one individual was removed from the UK after being resident in the same location.
	Please note all data are sourced from management information tools and are not quality assured under National Statistics protocols. Figures provided do not constitute part of National Statistics and should be treated as provisional.

Illegal Immigrants: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants resident at addresses in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency were (a) identified and (b) deported in the last five years.

Damian Green: The data requested are not available as part of UK Border Agency's standard reports. Information on illegal immigrants encountered and removals is recorded on two separate databases. To obtain the requested information would require data matching between these two systems which would exceed the cost threshold.
	We are however able to identify those cases encountered (i.e. served papers) with a last known address in the Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency, who were subsequently removed. This does not mean they were necessarily encountered in the constituency. The information is as follows:
	
		
			  Served IS151A Subsequently removed 
			 2006 13 4 
			 2007 50 13 
			 2008 50 6 
			 2009 49 11 
			 2010 39 8 
			 2011(1) 14 0 
			 Total 215 42 
			 (1) Data for 2011 cover 1 January to 30 June 2011. Note: All figures quoted are internal management information only and are subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Minister for Immigration plans to reply to the letter of 18 May 2011 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr T S Zivane.

Damian Green: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 5 July 2011.

National Policing Improvement Agency

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the capacity of the Association of Chief Police Officers to assume the functions of the National Police Improvement Agency.

Nick Herbert: There are no proposals to transfer any of the National Police Improvement Agency's functions to the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Offenders: Foreign Nationals

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 28 June 2011, Official Report, columns 685-86W, on offenders: foreign nationals, how many people are on the watch list; and what the country of origin is of each such person.

Damian Green: The UK holds a watchlist of adverse information and intelligence drawn from a variety of sources, including the police. The system is used by UK Border Agency staff for the purposes of national security and the detection and prevention of crime. It is long-standing policy not to discuss either the specific data held on the watchlist or the source of the data as to do so would be counterproductive.

Organised Crime

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crime alerts were issued by the Serious Organised Crime Agency in each year since 2006.

Nick Herbert: The number of alerts issued by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) for each year was as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2010-11 114 
			 2009-10 76 
			 2008-09 71 
			 2007-08 46 
			 2006-07 24 
		
	
	SOCA publishes information on the number of alerts issued each year in the SOCA annual report and accounts, available at:
	www.soca.gov.uk

Organised Crime: Exclusion Orders

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were excluded following a recommendation by the Serious Organised Crime Agency in each year since 2006.

Nick Herbert: A breakdown of individuals excluded from the UK since 2006 following a recommendation by the Serious Organised Crime Agency is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2006 0 
			 2007 3 
			 2008 10 
			 2009 11 
			 2010 4 
			 2011 0

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of foreign national prisoners who did not have leave to remain in the UK prior to their imprisonment.

Damian Green: In order to answer this question the UK Border Agency would need to cross-reference individual records with the National Offender Management Service. This would incur a disproportionate cost.

Raed Salah

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the circumstances in which Raed Salah entered the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: holding answer 4 July 2011
	Raed Salah was excluded from the United Kingdom on 23 June. He entered the United Kingdom on 25 June when he should have been stopped and refused entry. Salah was arrested on 28 June by UK Border Agency officers and is being detained while we seek to deport him.
	The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has ordered an urgent review of procedures to ascertain how he was allowed to enter the country and to learn the lessons from this situation and seek to ensure it cannot happen again.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Advertising

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on placing advertisements in newspapers in England in each year since 2005.

Chris Grayling: Information is not collated centrally and can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Child Care Tax Credit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households would receive (a) increased and (b) reduced childcare support after the full implementation of universal credit if estimated increases in take-up are removed from the calculations.

Maria Miller: The details of the child care element in universal credit are not yet finalised. The impacts of the proposed child care policy will be set out in future iterations of the universal credit impact assessment.

Child Maintenance

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many child support cases there are in (a) Wales and (b) Newport East constituency; and how many such cases involve (i) a parent with care and (ii) a non-resident parent.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	Letter from Noel Shanahan
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many child support cases there are in (a) Wales and (b) Newport East constituency; and how many such cases involve (i) a parent with care and (ii) a non-resident parent.
	The number of live and assessed cases in the quarter ending March 2011 where the parent with care lives in Wales is 71,110. The number of live and assessed cases in the same period where the parent with care lives in Newport East parliamentary constituency is 1,950.
	For a case to be classed as live and assessed they must involve both a non-resident parent and a parent with care.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Community Care Grants

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will assess the effects of his Department's proposals for the localisation of community care grants and crisis loans on (a) distribution of funding, (b) administrative costs and (c) the standard of decision-making processes; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: We are not localising community care grants and crisis loans, we are replacing them with new local welfare assistance delivered by local authorities in England and the devolved Administrations in Scotland and Wales. The new provision will be better targeted and offer better value for money.
	The programme funding for the new local welfare assistance will be the same as the Department for Work and Pensions allocation at the point responsibility is transferred.
	The White Paper published in December 2010—“Universal Credit: welfare that works”—made clear that any new burdens would be funded.
	The delivery of local assistance will mean that any decisions made at a local level are the most appropriate ones for that area.
	These issues, and more, are covered in the Government's response to its call for evidence, “Local support to replace Community Care Grants and Crisis Loans for living expenses” published on 23 June. It is available in the Library and can be accessed on the Department for Work and Pensions website:
	www.dwp.gov.uk/consultations/2011/local-support-replace-ccg-cl.shtml

Departmental Manpower

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to publish monthly information on changes in the numbers of employees of his Department's agencies, categorised by (a) seniority, (b) voluntary redundancy, (c) natural wastage and (d) involuntary redundancy.

Chris Grayling: The Government are committed to transparency and the availability of data and are currently exploring options for the more frequent publication of this type of workforce management information across the civil service.
	Work force management information for the Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies will continue to be published via the annual civil service employment survey, pending the outcome of the review.

Departmental Official Cars

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost to his Department and its predecessors was of the provision of ministerial cars in each financial year between 2000-01 and 2010-11; how many (a) cars for the exclusive use of Ministers and (b) ministerial car journeys were paid for by his Department in each such year; what the average cost to his Department of a ministerial car journey was in each such year; and what steps his Department has taken to reduce the cost of ministerial cars since his appointment.

Chris Grayling: Information on the cost and number of ministerial cars for DWP is published in the annual written ministerial statement, details of which can be found within the Libraries of both Houses. The following details the spend for this Department:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2005-06 390,700 
			 2006-07 407,800 
			 2007-08 415,900 
			 2008-09 428,800 
			 2009-10 506,726 
		
	
	Details of the DWP costs for 2010-11 are being compiled and due for release in July 2011.
	Information prior to 2005 is not available and would be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Information relating to individual DWP ministerial car journeys prior to September 2010 is not available as there was no requirement to collect these data.
	Information relating to the number of DWP ministerial car journeys made since the introduction of the ‘on-demand' Ministerial Car Service on 6 September 2010 and up until 31 March 2011 is 293.
	The Ministerial Code, published on 21 May 2010, included changes to the circumstances in which Ministers would be entitled to a car and driver. The number of Ministers with allocated cars and drivers would be kept to a minimum, taking into account security and other considerations. Other Ministers would be entitled to use cars from a Ministerial Car Pool as required.
	All Ministers are encouraged to walk or use public transport wherever practicable.

Housing Benefit

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many young people in (a) London, (b) Birmingham, (c) Leeds, (d) Manchester and (e) Liverpool claimed shared room rent housing benefit in 2010-11; and what estimate he has made of the equivalent numbers following the introduction of the 35 years old age threshold.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available for 2010-11.
	The following table presents estimates of the number of local housing allowance cases assessed at the shared accommodation rate in March 2010, together with estimates of the numbers of claimants who would be affected by the extension of the age threshold for the shared accommodation rate.
	Only those who are single and aged under 25 are classed as a young person under the current regulations, but couples and claimants aged over 25 who live in shared accommodation are also assessed at the lower rate.
	Only single claimants aged 25 to 34 and currently renting self-contained accommodation will be affected by the extension of the age threshold.
	
		
			 Area Claimants assessed at shared accommodation rate aged under 25 Claimants aged over 25 but assessed at the shared accommodation rate Claimants aged 25 to 34 affected by extension of the age threshold for the shared accommodation rate 
			 London 7,430 21,980 11,780 
		
	
	
		
			 Birmingham 1,360 2,310 1,410 
			 Leeds 1,500 1,680 1,270 
			 Manchester 910 1,040 1,000 
			 Liverpool 900 910 1,450 
			 Source: Equality impact assessment of the increase to the shared accommodation rate age threshold, available on the DWP website at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/eia-hb-shared-accommodation-age-threshold.pdf

Jobcentre Plus: Manpower

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many staff were appointed on permanent contracts by Jobcentre Plus in each of the last four years;
	(2)  how many staff appointed on permanent contracts by Jobcentre Plus were (a) upgraded from fixed-term contracts, (b) transferred from other positions in his Department and (c) transferred from outside his Department under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 in each of the last four years.

Chris Grayling: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Darra Singh
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking how many staff were appointed on permanent contracts by Jobcentre Plus in each of the last four years; how many staff appointed on permanent contracts by Jobcentre Plus were (a) upgraded from fixed-term contracts (b) transferred from other positions in his Department and (c) transferred from outside his Department under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations in each of the last four years. These are issues that fall within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	In response to the first question, the information in the following table showing staff externally appointed on permanent contracts in each of the last four years is set out on a staff in post basis i.e. employees are counted as a single unit irrespective of the hours they work. The data covers the period April to March in each of the last four years and is the latest information available.
	
		
			  Permanent recruitment 
			 2010-11 7 
			 2009-10 2,602 
			 2008-09 5,104 
			 2007-08 2,612 
		
	
	The data being reported is drawn from an internal Departmental system used to record and monitor staffing details.
	We are unable to provide the information requested in the second question in relation to each of the three points you are raising without disproportionate cost.

Maternity Pay

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if his Department will bring forward amendments to the guidance on statutory maternity pay and stillbirths to align it with the legal definition of stillbirth of 24 completed weeks of pregnancy.

Maria Miller: The current guidance on statutory maternity pay and stillbirths is fully aligned to the legal definition of stillbirth. The DWP and Directgov websites state that:
	“If your baby is stillborn after the start of the 25th week of your pregnancy you are entitled to the same Maternity Allowance or Statutory Maternity Pay you would have received if your child was born alive”.
	This applies to births occurring in the 25th week of a pregnancy or later, or to put it another way after 24 full weeks of pregnancy have been completed.

Poverty: Children

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children were living in poverty in a household which included a couple in (a) each year since 1997 and (b) each of the last four quarters for which figures are available.

Maria Miller: Estimates of the number and proportion of children living in poverty are published in the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. HBAI uses household (rather than family) income adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living.
	The following table shows the number and proportion of children living in couple families in households with income below 60% of contemporary median income before housing costs (BHC). Data are provided for each year between 1997-98 and 2009-10. This information is not available on a quarterly basis.
	
		
			 Table: Numbers and proportions of children in couple families in households with equivalised incomes below 60% of contemporary median income before housing costs (BHC) 
			  Number (million) Proportion (%) 
			 1997-98 2.0 21 
			 1998-99 2.0 20 
			 1999-2000 1.8 19 
			 2000-01 1.7 17 
			 2001-02 1.7 17 
			 2002-03 1.7 17 
			 2003-04 1.7 17 
			 2004-05 1.6 16 
			 2005-06 1.7 18 
			 2006-07 1.7 18 
			 2007-08 1.8 18 
			 2008-09 1.7 18 
			 2009-10 1.7 17 
		
	
	
		
			 Notes: 1. These statistics are based on households below average income (HBAI) data available at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk-asd-index.php?paqe=hbai_arc 2. Data are sourced from the Family Resources survey and cover Great Britain up to 1997-98 and the United Kingdom from 1998-99, with estimates for Northern Ireland imputed for the years 1998-99 through 2001-02. The reference period for FRS figures is single financial years. 3. Disposable household income is adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 4. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 5. Numbers of people in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest 100,000, while proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. 6. Figures have been presented on a before housing cost (BHC) basis. For BHC figures, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, buildings insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income. 7. The household level poverty threshold is defined as the 60% of contemporary median equivalised disposable household income.

Social Security Benefits

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many employment-related benefit claimants and job seekers live more than 10 miles from their nearest Jobcentre Plus.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential effects of regulation 3 of the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations 2011 on the level of state pension of retired people resident overseas; and what consideration he has given to reviewing that regulation.

Steve Webb: The UK State Pension is payable world-wide but is only up-rated abroad where there is a legal requirement or reciprocal agreement to do so. A well known court case challenging the UK's position was heard by the European Court of Human Rights' Grand Chamber in September 2009 and the court's judgment of March 2010 was in the UK's favour. We continue to take our obligations under the terms of the European Convention on Human Rights seriously and are satisfied that we are complying. We therefore have no plans to make any changes to the current arrangements that allow for the exportability and up-rating of UK State Pensions.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason he has not accepted the recommendations contained in the Turner Report on Pensions for a 10 year notice period for women retiring at 66 years from 2018; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: We need to act quickly to reduce the increasing costs imposed on the state pension system by the increases in longevity. Since the 2004 based projections which the Pensions Commission used life expectancy projections for people reaching 65 have been revised upwards by a year and a half.
	It has not been possible to give a notice period similar to those given for previous increases in state pension age. Under the new timetable in the Pensions Bill, the increase from 63 to 65 in women's state pension age will not start until April 2016 and no one will have a state pension age of 66 until 2020.
	If we were to give at least 15 years' notice as recommended by the Pensions Commission in their second report, “A New Pension Settlement for the Twenty-First Century”, this would mean not changing the state pension age until 2025.

Unemployment Benefits

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of people claiming out-of-work benefit lost their entitlement in each local authority area in each of the last 18 months.

Chris Grayling: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Darra Singh
	The Secretary of State for Work and for Pensions has asked me to reply to your question regarding how many and what proportion of people claiming out-of-work benefit lost their entitlement in each local authority area in each of the last 18 months. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The information on the numbers and proportions of people who have lost their entitlement to Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) for each local authority covering the period from August 2009 to January 2011 is available. This has been placed in the Library.
	The source of the JSA information is DWP Information Directorate: Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database. Figures are published at:
	http://83.244.183.180/sanction/sanction/LIVE/tabtool.html
	The Tabulation Tool and instructions on how to use it can be found on the Departmental website here:
	http://83.244.183.180/100pc/tabtool.html
	I also provide data below for the numbers and proportions of people claiming Employment Support Allowance (ESA) who have been found fit for work. The latest data available covers the period from October 2008 to August 2010. I am only able to provide this data at a national level due to the disproportionate cost of obtaining the data for each local authority.
	
		
			  Fit for work 
			 Month of claim start Number Percentage 
			 October 2008 3,600 39 
			 November 2008 17,500 39 
			 December 2008 15,200 38 
			 January 2009 21,000 39 
			 February 2009 19,800 40 
			 March 2009 23,500 41 
			 April 2009 21,800 42 
			 May-2009 22,000 42 
			 June 2009 22,800 40 
			 July 2009 22,900 40 
			 August 2009 20,500 40 
			 September 2009 22,000 40 
		
	
	
		
			 October 2009 21,500 40 
			 November 2009 20,800 40 
			 December 2009 17,000 38 
			 January 2010 22,200 39 
			 February 2010 21,600 40 
			 March 2010 23,500 39 
			 April 2010 20,900 38 
			 May-2010 19,800 38 
			 June 2010 20,500 36 
			 July 2010 20,100 35 
			 August 2010 17,700 33 
			 Total 458,500 39 
			 Note: Totals may not sum due to rounding method used. 
		
	
	The source of the ESA table is Table 1 of the publication “Employment And Support Allowance: Work Capability Assessment by Health Condition and Functional Impairment: Official Statistics”, and presents initial assessment results for claims to August 2010.
	I hope this is helpful.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Tax: Exemptions

George Eustice: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will assess the merits of extending the maximum period for council tax exemptions for properties that are uninhabitable due to ongoing renovation.

Bob Neill: The Government have no plans to extend the council tax statutory exemption period for properties that are uninhabitable due to ongoing renovation.
	Local authorities already have powers to give local council tax discounts.

Departmental Allowances

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what expenses were claimed by (a) paid and (b) unpaid special advisers working in his Department in the last 12 months.

Bob Neill: From May 2010 to May 2011, special advisers claimed £509.88 in expenses. This compares with £1,953 in 2007-08, £4,407 in 2008-09 and £1,328 in 2009-10 claimed by special advisers under the last Administration. DCLG has no unpaid special advisers.

Departmental Billing

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of invoices from small and medium-sized businesses were paid by his Department within five working days of receipt of invoice in the last 12 months for which information is available.

Bob Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not currently record and publish information about the size of suppliers as this does not fully reflect the number and size of businesses engaged in supplying goods and services. We do not discriminate by size of business because many small and medium-sized enterprises can be found within larger supply chains.
	The following table sets out the Department's overall performance against the five working day target during the last 12 months:
	
		
			  Number of invoices paid on time (within five days of receipt) Percentage paid on time Number of invoices paid late (after   five   days of receipt) Percentage paid late 
			 June 2010 2,985 80.03 596 19.97 
			 July 2010 2,795 79.25 580 20.75 
			 August 2010 2,479 79.43 510 20.57 
			 September 2010 2,420 83.55 398 16.45 
			 October 2010 2,676 83.18 450 16.82 
			 November 2010 2,513 81.93 454 18.07 
			 December 2010 2,030 82.12 363 17.88 
			 January 2011 2,097 81.12 396 18.88 
			 February 2011 1,992 79.07 417 20.93 
			 March 2011 2,335 75.89 563 24.11 
			 April 2011 1,751 79.10 366 20.90 
			 May 2011 1,411 84.05 225 15.95 
		
	
	It should be noted that the new five-day target is more demanding than the previous 10-day target. We are taking steps to improve our performance on meeting these new targets.

Departmental Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress his Department has made in encouraging small businesses to bid for Government contracts.

Bob Neill: The Department has an action plan to help open up departmental contracts to small and medium sized enterprises. This has been published on our website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/jobscontracts/procurement/smallmediumenterprises/
	Although referring to organisations as small and medium enterprises, the scope of the packages announced includes voluntary/community organisations and social enterprises within its remit.
	Please note that 26% of the Department's contracts were with small and medium sized enterprises in 2010-11.

Departmental Procurement

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what provisions in respect of behavioural standards have been included in procurement contracts issued by his Department since May 2010.

Bob Neill: The Department's Standard Terms and Conditions of Contract contain clauses requiring adherence to specific legislative standards such as equality, environmental and health and safety. Each individual contract may set out further behavioural standards dependent upon the nature of the requirement (e.g. the departmental standard terms have separate optional sections relating to the procurement of goods, services and consultancy).

Empty Property

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many empty dwellings there were in each local authority area in each of the last five years; and what proportion of all dwellings this represented in each case.

Bob Neill: I have today placed in the Library of the House, a table showing the number of empty dwellings in each local authority area in England in each of the last five years; and what proportion of all dwellings this represented in each case. The data are as reported by local authorities and are a snapshot taken in the autumn each year.
	In this answer, empty dwellings includes both long-term and short-term empty dwellings.

Enterprise Zones

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether a Barnett consequential has been made to the devolved Administrations as a result of the policy to create enterprise zones.

Bob Neill: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, my right hon. Friend the Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander) on 28 June 2011, Official Report, column 689W.

Fire Services: Finance

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will ensure that his Department provides information to prospective new fire authorities on future grant funding, including support on grant implications, to facilitate the creation of merged fire authorities.

Bob Neill: We are currently undertaking the local government resource review and we do not know how decisions on that might affect distribution from 2013-14 onwards. Even if there was no change in the current system, we would expect to update data sets used in the formula, to use different control totals and for there to be changes brought about from floor damping levels. These alone could create large variance in the figures. We cannot therefore provide information to prospective new fire authorities on future grant funding.

Green Belt

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what priority he gives to the preservation of green belt boundaries; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: The coalition agreement explicitly states that we will maintain green belt protection. The green belt has a valuable role in stopping urban sprawl and providing a green lung around towns and cities.
	Indeed, our proposed abolition of the unpopular regional strategies through the Localism Bill will stop the top-down pressure to remove the green belt in 30 areas across England.

Homes and Communities Agency: Procurement

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) date of purchase, (b) amount, (c) supplier and (d) level 3 or enhanced transaction entry was of each transaction undertaken by the Homes and Communities Agency using the Government Procurement Card in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Andrew Stunell: holding answer 23 June 2011
	A table providing a breakdown of expenditure by the Homes and Communities Agency using Government Procurement Cards for 2008-09 and 2009-10 has been placed in the Library of the House. This includes (a) date of purchase, (b) amount, and (c) supplier, (d) level 3 or enhanced transaction details are not held centrally. Each transaction does have an expenditure type which is a broad description of the type of goods purchased.
	The data cover the periods 1 December 2008 (when the Homes and Communities Agency commenced business) to 31 March 2009; and 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010.

Housing: Water Supply

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will take steps to promote water efficiency in the building of new homes; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: Part G of the Building Regulations already sets water efficiency standards for new homes which require that, on average, their water consumption is no more than 125 litres per person per day (average national use is approximately 150 litres per person per day). The voluntary Code for Sustainable Homes promotes higher water efficiency standards. Homes funded by the Homes and Communities Agency are required to reach level three of the code which includes a water efficiency requirement of 105 litres per person per day.

Local Authorities: Older People

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to monitor (a) new charges and (b) changes in the level of charges for older people's services by local authorities.

Bob Neill: Local authorities are democratically elected and, as such, they are independent from central Government and are responsible for their own finances. It is for individual councils in consultation with their communities to decide on what services they provide for older people.
	Notwithstanding that, Ministers believe that councils should not be looking to increasing charges simply to deliver essential frontline services, or as an alternative to cutting out waste.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what steps he has taken to ensure that the Government's guidance to local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) on equality in LEP board nominations is given consideration by LEPs;
	(2)  what mechanisms he has put in place to ensure that the nominations process for local enterprise partnerships boards is open, fair and transparent;
	(3)  whether he is taking steps to ensure that local enterprise partnerships boards are representative of their communities.

Greg Clark: The Government expect that local areas are fair and transparent in developing their boards, and give due consideration to issues of representation, so as to result in a well-balanced board which suits the needs of the local area.
	The Government have asked that all local enterprise partnerships provide formal confirmation of their board selection to Ministers.

Local Government Finance

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding has been allocated to each local authority through the local services support grant in 2011-12.

Bob Neill: Local Services Support Grant is unhypothecated funding to local authorities, for them to use it to meet locally identified priorities. A table giving total allocations to each council for 2011-12 has been deposited in the Library of the House.

Local Government Finance

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department uses resource equalisation as part of the methodology to determine the allocation of local government grants.

Bob Neill: The distribution of formula grant takes into account the relative costs of providing services between areas (largely based on its socio-economic and demographic characteristics) together with its relative ability to raise funding locally (based on the number of band-D council tax equivalent properties within an authority's area). We then guarantee that every authority will receive at least a minimum percentage change (the ‘floor’) in its formula grant year on year on a like for like basis. In order to pay for this we scale back changes above the floor for other authorities.
	No other grants to local government take into account an authority's relative ability to raise funding locally.

Local Government Finance: Voluntary Organisations

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to monitor changes in the level of financial support by local authorities to the voluntary sector through (a) grants and (b) contracts.

Andrew Stunell: The Department is not formally monitoring changes in the financial support by local authorities to the voluntary and community sector.
	Local authorities are expected to publish all expenditure over £500. The new Code of Recommended Practice for local authorities on data transparency will set out minimum expectations of what data should be published. Spend data over £500, including payment to the voluntary and community sector, will be part of that minimum expectation.
	We want to encourage authorities and civil society to collaborate more, including greater involvement for voluntary groups in the running of public services. In that context, we recently consulted on a single page of new best value statutory guidance that set out reasonable expectations on how best value authorities should work with voluntary and community groups when facing difficult funding decisions. Authorities have to have regard to this guidance and can be challenged to show that they have done so. The consultation closed on 14 June and we will publish final guidance as early as possible this summer.

Scotland

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of contracts issued by (a) his Department and (b) agencies for which he is responsible were awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in (i) Scotland, (ii) South Lanarkshire and (iii) Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bob Neill: To answer this question in full would entail disproportionate cost as it would involve examining all purchases. However from our central record of contracts greater than £20,000 we have identified one contract in Scotland with a small and medium sized company based near Glasgow. This was 1%, as a proportion of the total number of such contracts issued in the last financial year.
	As part of my Department's transparency initiative, all spending to suppliers over £500 is published online; this information may also assist the hon. Member.

Trade Unions

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether any staff of his Department are entitled to work full-time on trade union activities while receiving a departmental salary.

Bob Neill: The Department pays the salary and related costs (travel and subsistence etc.) for a number of DCLG staff undertaking trade unions activities in this Department on a full and part-time basis. These are arrangements that the current Government have inherited from the last Administration.
	The Department does not specify the number of full-time or part-time trade union representative roles within the organisation. Rather, it sets a maximum level of facility time which is available for trade union activities and a maximum number of full-time and part-time roles which are permitted within that allocation. Currently, the maximum departmental limit within the overall facility time allocation is for two full time roles and four part time roles. These are fully utilised. Against that backdrop, the position is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Department for Communities and Local Government 
			 Overall 2011-12 facility time allocation (days) 1,000 
			 Maximum permitted full time representatives 2 
			 Actual number of full time representatives 2 
			 Maximum permitted part-time representatives 4 
			 Actual number of part-time representatives 4

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy to (a) ensure regional co-operation between local authorities in planning for Gypsy and Traveller caravan sites and (b) reinstate the obligation on local authorities to provide such sites.

Bob Neill: We are introducing a duty to co-operate through the Localism Bill to ensure that local authorities continue to work together after regional strategies are abolished. This will require local planning authorities, county councils and other public bodies to engage constructively, actively and on an ongoing basis in the planning process.
	The majority of new Traveller sites are small private ones provided by Travellers themselves. This meets community aspirations on tenure and their small size can aid integration with the settled community. Delivery of such sites is most appropriately managed through planning system. The Government published their proposed new planning policy for Traveller sites for consultation on 13 April. Members are welcome to submit their views.

TRANSPORT

Bus Services: Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans any further changes to the Bus Service Operators Grant between 2012 and 2015.

Norman Baker: In its business plan, the Department for Transport has committed to review the future distribution of Bus Service Operators Grant by March 2012. The Department is working with bus operators and local government to look at smarter ways of delivering bus subsidy, and is keen to see what can be developed by consensus between local authorities and operators. An announcement will be made in due course.

Departmental Official Cars

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to his Department and its predecessors was of the provision of ministerial cars in each financial year between 2000-01 and 2010-11; how many (a) cars for the exclusive use of Ministers and (b) ministerial car journeys were paid for by his Department in each such year; what the average cost to his Department of a ministerial car journey was in each such year; and what steps his Department has taken to reduce the cost of ministerial cars since his appointment.

Michael Penning: Information on the cost and number of ministerial cars is published in the annual written ministerial statement, details of which can be found within the Libraries of both Houses.
	2005- 06:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070726/wmstext/70726m0004.htm
	2006- 07:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070726/wmstext/70726m0004.htm
	2007-08:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080722/wmstext/80722m0008.htm
	2008-09:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm090716/wmstext/90716m0009.htm
	2009-10:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/press/speechesstatements/statements/hammond20101028a
	Details of the costs for 2010-11 are being compiled and are due for release in July 2011.

East Coast Railway Line

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he has met representatives of East Coast Trains to discuss the transfer of the East Coast Trains call centre from Newcastle to India; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: holding answer 28 June 2011
	Ministers and officials from the Department for Transport were made aware of the decision by East Coast Main Line Ltd to retender its contract for the supply of call centre services to the company. However all contractual issues in relation to the provision of those services are operational matters for East Coast Main Line Ltd and Directly Operated Railways Ltd and Ministers were not involved in any decisions.

East Coast Railway Line: Legal Advice

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) legal advice he received and (b) consultation he undertook on the transfer of the East Coast Trains call centre from Newcastle to India.

Norman Baker: holding answer 28 June 2011
	The Department for Transport has not sought any legal advice or undertaken any consultations into this matter. Decisions on the contractual arrangements for the provision of call centre services to East Coast Main Line Ltd are operational matters for the company.

Parking: Fines

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether car rental companies will be able to transfer liability for parking fines from the registered keeper to the driver of a vehicle following implementation of the provisions of the Protection of Freedoms Bill;
	(2)  what representations he has received on proposals to allow an exemption for the car rental industry from provisions of the Protection of Freedoms Bill that will make rental companies liable for paying parking fines incurred by their customers on private land; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has received a number of representations from one car rental company.
	Currently, if a vehicle has been parked on private land, and a contract has been created, that contract is between the driver at the time and the landowner (or their agent). The proposed provisions in the Protection of Freedoms Bill mean that the vehicle keeper should pay the parking-related charge if they were the driver at the time. If they were not the driver at the time they may give the name and address of the driver to the landowner or their agent for them to pursue payment from the driver. This would apply equally to any vehicle keeper, whether a car rental company or private owner.
	Alternatively, and subject to the terms of the contract between the hirer and the vehicle owner, the parties may agree that any penalty charges incurred will be debited by the vehicle owner to the credit card account of the hirer.

Pedestrian Crossings: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many school crossing patrol officers were employed in each London borough in each year since 1988.

Michael Penning: The Department for Transport does not hold figures for the numbers of school crossing patrol officers employed in each London borough in each year. The employment of school crossing patrol officers is a matter for local authorities.

Roads: Accidents

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic accidents involving children there have been in each London borough in each year since 1988.

Michael Penning: The number of reported personal injury road accidents involving children (aged 0 to 15 years) in each London borough in each year since 1988 is shown in Tables 1 and 2.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of reported personal injury road accidents involving children  (1)  , Greater London: 1988-99 
			  Number of reported personal injury accidents 
			 London borough 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 
			 City of London 6 16 9 8 11 7 3 7 4 8 12 4 
			 Barking and Dagenham 189 176 201 160 162 131 149 145 153 162 158 138 
			 Barnet 211 196 221 202 202 207 215 196 183 168 183 184 
			 Bexley 151 137 161 138 137 134 112 135 148 120 120 134 
			 Brent 233 227 220 227 211 192 180 178 172 191 175 171 
			 Bromley 193 202 188 177 154 146 185 155 163 196 182 153 
			 Camden 150 130 121 114 126 107 103 112 101 96 104 81 
			 Croydon 229 237 233 239 238 243 284 245 227 221 228 258 
			 Ealing 208 260 236 202 208 173 191 175 187 176 180 210 
			 Enfield 195 195 184 188 207 205 214 192 199 193 181 212 
			 Greenwich 224 253 256 213 223 164 203 219 174 174 181 188 
			 Hackney 195 218 223 175 169 190 188 165 173 182 160 163 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 106 114 108 102 100 79 99 83 83 107 76 83 
			 Haringey 161 179 164 162 157 157 139 159 136 156 153 120 
			 Harrow 124 119 109 102 108 92 104 110 104 94 90 90 
			 Havering 224 229 221 176 187 156 141 172 156 158 161 129 
			 Hillingdon 182 223 197 194 188 204 170 200 152 173 152 142 
			 Hounslow 195 197 211 174 159 174 166 146 160 . 175 160 134 
			 Islington 127 158 153 143 136 113 98 101 104 105 108 120 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 87 68 72 66 72 73 60 66 50 49 67 49 
			 Kingston upon Thames 118 117 106 90 87 84 81 76 65 71 75 51 
			 Lambeth 255 261 260 249 244 231 235 249 203 204 204 205 
			 Lewisham 233 229 207 217 219 227 220 189 191 217 195 206 
			 Merton 95 115 145 81 103 97 95 95 125 99 98 99 
		
	
	
		
			 Newham 227 264 334 242 230 260 229 214 228 233 208 225 
			 Redbridge 147 174 162 161 152 144 162 170 162 134 148 171 
			 Richmond upon Thames 87 102 91 90 68 84 94 82 76 67 74 58 
			 Southwark 239 239 268 217 209 224 208 199 153 191 182 186 
			 Sutton 112 139 137 136 124 107 114 106 98 97 106 91 
			 Tower Hamlets 178 191 185 169 162 144 138 143 128 108 128 118 
			 Waltham Forest 186 196 192 183 199 162 138 162 156 151 166 151 
			 Wandsworth 193 188 172 174 153 146 171 150 163 135 137 138 
			 Westminster 157 161 160 153 131 142 113 112 127 121 124 115 
			 Heathrow airport 0 4 0 4 5 4 3 2 6 3 1 3 
			              
			 Greater London(2) 5,617 5,914 5,907 5,328 5,241 5,003 5,005 4,910 4,710 4,735 4,677 4,580 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of reported personal injury road accidents involving children  (1)  , Greater London: 2000-10 
			  Number of reported personal injury accidents 
			 London borough 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
			 City of London 7 7 3 4 4 0 2 4 4 6 3 
			 Barking and Dagenham 120 118 105 77 99 86 74 55 65 65 72 
			 Barnet 163 156 134 121 124 89 75 93 77 78 93 
			 Bexley 119 139 105 89 90 66 63 64 72 53 65 
			 Brent 170 142 132 109 125 93 73 64 57 65 64 
			 Bromley 114 128 144 98 90 85 67 78 69 57 62 
			 Camden 95 83 77 61 70 50 36 36 26 39 42 
			 Croydon 231 209 165 142 145 138 117 97 90 101 109 
			 Ealing 158 139 127 134 113 96 79 73 63 78 68 
			 Enfield 170 152 168 127 113 94 69 71 63 87 85 
			 Greenwich 175 170 144 116 105 97 96 82 85 67 72 
			 Hackney 166 154 121 104 81 80 62 62 79 46 61 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 77 92 62 51 64 51 33 40 31 44 31 
			 Haringey 152 137 132 103 109 83 77 53 56 80 82 
			 Harrow 92 83 54 61 56 53 56 44 39 43 43 
			 Havering 117 124 96 114 71 79 80 60 64 71 64 
			 Hillingdon 144 171 121 104 123 96 82 77 73 79 81 
			 Hounslow 122 131 93' 108 84 76 67 58 76 64 71 
			 Islington 110 100 95 87 53 48 43 32 34 38 41 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 60 45 45 47 30 31 28 25 28 38 24 
			 Kingston upon Thames 61 54 54 39 33 36 38 33 37 39 32 
			 Lambeth 182 154 132 136 104 102 66 71 76 81 87 
			 Lewisham 194 170 147 150 145 104 92 68 76 75 80 
			 Merton 81 85 74 60 64 41 51 44 35 32 30 
			 Newham 186 176 165 138 129 99 87 89 87 92 85 
			 Redbridge 127 133 108 99 94 78 78 49 74 67 84 
			 Richmond upon Thames 52 55 44 47 36 33 23 41 28 20 41 
			 Southwark 187 170 160 143 105 108 84 67 71 89 79 
			 Sutton 87 91 62 68 67 53 50 50 45 34 33 
			 Tower Hamlets 138 105 81 82 75 70 49 51 70 57 46 
			 Waltham Forest 136 128 119 113 94 103 74 69 90 72 60 
			 Wandsworth 106 120 99 76 68 59 55 62 49 57 58 
			 Westminster 96 103 96 95 89 72 61 65 49 40 50 
			 Heathrow airport 2 1 3 1 0 2 0 2 0 1 1 
			             
			 Greater London(2) 4,197 4,025 3,467 3,104 2,852 2,451 2,087 1,929 1,938 1,955 1,999 
			 (1) Aged 0 to 15 years (2) Includes figures for accidents on roads in Heathrow airport which are not counted by the London borough of Hillingdon. Source: Transport for London

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on the report commissioned by his Department into potential sources of risk to strategic transport networks from activities below roads and railways and on adjacent sites.

Michael Penning: The recommendations within the reports compiled by both the Highways Agency and Network Rail are currently being considered by the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond).

TREASURY

Board for Actuarial Standards

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many applicants there were for appointment to the Board for Actuarial Standards; and which such applicants were interviewed;
	(2)  what criteria were used in making the appointment of Sir Derek Wanless to the Board for Actuarial Standards.
	(3)  where the opportunities for appointment to the Board for Actuarial Standards were advertised.

Mark Hoban: The Financial Reporting Council is a private body. Appointments to the operating bodies of the FRC (of which the Board for Actuarial Standards is one) are a matter for the FRC.

Banks: Regulation

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether under the Project Merlin agreement chief executive remuneration will reflect banks' performance against (a) stretch and (b) capacity lending targets.

Mark Hoban: The Merlin statement commits the banks to give the expectations, capacity and willingness relating to lending to small and medium sized businesses more weight in the performance metrics of the chief executives of each bank for 2011, as well as the leaders responsible for the relevant business areas, than the SME lending share of each bank's profits might otherwise imply.

Banks: Regulation

Alun Cairns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures are in place to monitor the progress of the Project Merlin agreement with banks.

Mark Hoban: The Government are closely monitoring the banks' progress in meeting the commitments made under Project Merlin, and will provide further information at the appropriate time.

Bilderberg Group

Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to his Department was of (a) travel and (b) accommodation in connection with his attendance at the Bilderberg conference 2011.

Justine Greening: The Department has committed to publish details of all Ministers’ meetings, hospitality and overseas travel, including that of the Chancellor. This data is published on the HM Treasury website and can be found in the following link:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Cheques

Robert Buckland: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with major banks about the possibility of retaining cheque books beyond 2018.

Mark Hoban: The Payments Council have made a commitment not to close the cheque clearing system unless alternatives are put in place, including a paper based system.
	The Government are clear that any alternative system will need to replicate the flexibility and ease of use of cheques, while improving processing times, and be cost effective. An alternative will need to have been tested in practice, and be widely available, widely acceptable and widely adopted by users who do not currently have a suitable alternative. Until this is demonstrated, there is not a credible and coherent case for abolishing cheques. The Government are keenly monitoring the progress of the cheque replacement programme and are considering whether they may need to intervene to protect vulnerable individuals and businesses if there is any threat that cheques may be withdrawn without suitable alternatives being put in place.

Cheques

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on the decision of the Payments Council to phase out of the use of cheques.

Mark Hoban: The Payments Council have made a commitment not to close the cheque clearing system unless alternatives are put in place, including a paper based system.
	The Government are clear that any alternative system will need to replicate the flexibility and ease of use of cheques, while improving processing times, and be cost effective. An alternative will need to have been tested in practice, and be widely available, widely acceptable and widely adopted by users who do not currently have a suitable alternative. Until this is demonstrated, there is not a credible and coherent case for abolishing cheques. The Government are keenly monitoring the progress of the cheque replacement programme and are considering whether they may need to intervene to protect vulnerable individuals and businesses if there is any threat that cheques may be withdrawn without suitable alternatives being put in place.

Commodity Markets

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the findings of the report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development on the effects of financial investors on commodity prices.

Mark Hoban: The report entitled “Price Formation in Financialized Commodity Markets” is UNCTAD's latest contribution to the debate on the impact of financial investors on commodity prices. It has a particular focus on the importance of market information and the scope that might exist for herding in commodity derivative markets. The Government strongly support the G20 commitment to improve the regulation, functioning, and transparency of financial and commodity markets.
	The report concludes by floating a number of ideas as options for a possible regulatory response by the international community. They are an interesting contribution to the debate. But given the scope that exists for rules in this area to have counter-productive impacts, a clear understanding of the associated costs and benefits of all proposals is important. The Government would need to see a more detailed assessment of the specific proposals before we would comment on them.

Departmental Billing

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of invoices from small and medium-sized businesses were paid by his Department within five working days of receipt in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Justine Greening: The Department's aim is to pay all valid goods and services invoices within five working days and this applies to all suppliers of goods and services.
	Details of the Treasury Group's performance against this five working day aim since May 2010 can be found on the department's website at:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/group_payment_performance.htm

Departmental Official Cars

Stephen Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to his Department was of the provision of ministerial cars in each financial year between 2000-01 and 2010-11; how many (a) cars for the exclusive use of Ministers and (b) ministerial car journeys were paid for by his Department in each such year; what the average cost to his Department of a ministerial car journey was in each such year; and what steps his Department has taken to reduce the cost of ministerial cars since his appointment.

Justine Greening: Information on the cost and number of ministerial cars has been published in annual written ministerial statements since 2005, available in the Libraries of both Houses. Details of the costs for 2010-11 are in the process of being compiled and are due for release in July 2011. Information prior to 2005 is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Statistics

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what statistical data his Department has ceased to collect in the last year; and what the (a) reasons for and (b) savings arising from each such cessation were.

Justine Greening: HM Treasury has not ceased to collect any statistical data in the last year.

European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of the sums committed to EU financial stabilisation mechanisms which will revert to the Exchequer.

Mark Hoban: The European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM) is financed by the European Commission raising funds on capital markets, guaranteed by the EU Budget. There is no direct impact on the EU Budget and therefore on the Exchequer from any such borrowing by the Commission. Only in the event that a beneficiary member state defaults on loan repayments would the EU Budget be adversely affected.
	Any repayments or other revenue arising from the EFSM would be returned to the EU Budget, where it would contribute to any budgetary surplus and thereby help to lower member states' future contributions. This revenue would not be returned directly to member states.
	The December European Council agreed that a permanent mechanism to safeguard the financial stability of the euro area as a whole (European Stability Mechanism—ESM) will be established by ‘the member states of the euro area’ from 2013. The Government have ensured that the UK will not be part of the permanent European Stability Mechanism. In addition, once the ESM comes into existence, it will replace both the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM) and the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). Therefore the EFSM will cease to exist in July 2013, at the latest.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Richard Fuller: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to introduce a scheme for the repayment of excise duty on fuel for disabled drivers.

Justine Greening: We are committed to supporting disabled people to ensure that they can live full and active lives. The mobility component of disability living allowance is currently available to help disabled people who face extra costs when getting around. In 2013 we will replace disability living allowance with personal independence payment, which will include a mobility component. The new benefit will be focused on individuals whose health condition or impairment has the most impact on their lives.

Financial Services

Jonathan Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the financial services industry on steps to ensure transparency in the description of financial products for consumers; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to facilitate UK bank account holders switching personal current accounts between banks; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The Government have an ongoing dialogue with the banking and financial services community.
	The Government established an Independent Commission on Banking to examine a range of issues, including competition in the retail banking and personal current account markets. The Government welcome the progress that the Commission has made and look forward to receiving its final report in September 2011.

Financial Services: Advisory Services

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the contribution of the voluntary sector to providing advice to the public on savings and loans.

Mark Hoban: The Money Advice Service was established in April 2010 to promote understanding of the financial system and raise levels of financial capability across the UK. MAS is operationally independent and funded by a levy on the financial services industry. MAS regularly engages with the voluntary sector.

International Monetary Fund

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to require the International Monetary Fund to apply as a condition for a loan that any applicant country with identifiable poor performance in its administration of asylum claims demonstrates improvement in such administration.

Mark Hoban: When a member country requests assistance from the IMF, IMF staff discuss with the country the economic policies that may be expected to address the problems most effectively. The IMF then aims to ensure that conditions linked to IMF loan disbursements are focused and adequately tailored to the varying strengths of members' policies and fundamentals.
	The UK supports this approach, and considers that the conditions attached to any IMF programme should be focused on restoring macro-economic stability to the country in difficulty. For this reason, we do not believe in a “one size fits all” approach to IMF conditionality.
	Further details of IMF lending and conditionality policy can be found at:
	http://www.imf.org/external/about/lending.htm

Loans: Republic of Ireland

Mark Reckless: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the bilateral Irish loan still ranks above private sector debt, including private holdings of Irish gilts, in line with that of Eurozone credit extended under the European Financial Stability Facility, following the Eurozone agreement of 20 June 2011.

Mark Hoban: Article 13.3 of the bilateral loan agreement with Ireland states that
	‘the Borrower [Ireland] must ensure that its payment obligations under this Agreement at all times rank at least pari passu with all its other present and future unsecured indebtedness.'
	In his statement to the press following the Eurogroup meeting of 20 June, Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker said that the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) will not claim preferred creditor status as regards loans to countries that already have a support programme. The treaty establishing the ESM will be signed and presented to euro area Parliaments for ratification in the coming weeks.

Minimum Wage

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many jobs HM Revenue and Customs identified as being paid below the rate of national minimum wage in each region in each year since its inception.

David Gauke: Estimates of the number of people in low paid jobs, and specifically those paid less than the national minimum wage, are published by the Office for National Statistics annually in October.
	The ONS publishes tables on the National Statistics website showing the number of UK jobs from 1998 onwards paid below the minimum wage for those aged 18-21 and those aged 22 and over, by age, gender, full-time or part-time work, by industry sector, by Government Office Region and by occupation. From 2005, estimates of the number of 16-17 year olds paid below the national minimum wage have also been published.

Minimum Wage

Karen Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the sum identified as national minimum wage underpayments to employees in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11 has now been paid.

David Gauke: HMRC has identified minimum wage arrears of almost £9 million between April 2009 and the end of June 2011. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs does not keep separate statistics on the amount of arrears paid or not paid to workers.
	HMRC will pursue any known non-payment of arrears through civil recovery action.

Minimum Wage

Karen Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effects of labour market conditions on the workload of national minimum wage compliance officers.

David Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the House on 11 November 2010, Official Report, column 471W.

National Insurance Contributions: New Businesses

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the economic effects on the South East of the exclusion of that region from the regional employer national insurance contributions holiday.

David Gauke: No specific assessment has been made of the economic effects of the National Insurance Contributions (NICs) Holiday on the South East.
	The policy is designed to support new businesses in parts of the country that are most reliant on the public sector. The Government have considered the case for extending the NICs Holiday to all regions but believes the best use of public funds at this time is to keep the NICs Holiday as a targeted scheme for those areas in most need of employment support.

Pensions: Taxation

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to respond to question 57259, on pension tax relief, tabled on 19 May 2011 for answer on 23 May.

David Gauke: holding answer 30 June 2011
	I have now replied to the hon. Member.

Personal Savings

Steven Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to support existing savers; and what steps he is taking to encourage people to save.

Mark Hoban: The Government's savings strategy is based on the principles of freedom, fairness and responsibility and aims to work with the grain of saving habits. In particular, the Government aim to encourage more lower and middle income households to start to save and save more, especially for the long-term and retirement.
	The Government have taken steps to support existing savers and encourage new savers, including:
	1. Promoting choice, by providing flexibility to consumers in a competitive market including introducing a Junior ISA, removing the effective requirement to annuitise at age 75 and ensuring transfer on cash ISAs is no more than 15 working days.
	2. Promoting fairness by ensuring that saving is appropriately incentivised and rewarded, including introducing automatic enrolment of employees into a pension scheme from next year, reforming the way pensions tax relief is restricted and indexing ISA contribution limits.
	3. Promoting personal responsibility within the saving, debt and protection system; so individuals are equipped to exercise effective choice and plan for expected and unexpected events, industry introducing a free and impartial national financial advice service, which includes a Financial Healthcheck delivered by the Money Advice Service, the development of simple financial products, and ensuring reforms to the state pension system provide clear incentives for people to save for their retirement.

Tax Allowances: Pensions

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of pensions tax relief in each year since 1990 (a) in total, (b) in respect of standard rate taxpayers, (c) in respect of higher rate taxpayers and (d) by income decile; and what change in cost would have been achieved by limiting tax relief to standard rate taxpayers.

David Gauke: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) The estimated total cost of the various tax reliefs relating to pensions are published by HM Revenue and Customs on their website and can be found at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/pensions/table7-9.pdf
	The published table shows each year since 1999-2000. Figures for 1998-99 are also available and are as follows:
	
		
			 Registered pension schemes: Cost of tax relief 1998-99 
			  £ million 
			 Relief for  
			 Occupational scheme contributions:  
			 By employees 2,500 
		
	
	
		
			 By employers 5,500 
			 Personal pension scheme contributions:  
			 By employees 1,000 
			 By employers 440 
			 PP and RAC contributions by self-employed 1,100 
			 National insurance rebates to PPs(1) 180 
			 Investment income of funds(2) 4,300 
			 Lump sum payments from unfunded schemes(3) 350 
			   
			 Less tax liable on  
			 Pension payments(4) 6,100 
			 Refunds by funds to employers in connection with pension fund surpluses 29 
			   
			 Total (rounded to nearest £100 million) 8,300 
			   
			 Memorandum item  
			 National insurance relief on employer contributions(5) 2,800 
			 PP = personal pension RAC = retirement annuity contract (1) Basic rate of tax relief paid to scheme administrators in respect of the employees’ part of the national insurance rebate. (2) The cost of relief on investment income is for both occupational and personal pension schemes funds; it is not possible to provide reliable estimates distinctly. The estimate assumes relief at the basic rate of tax. Estimates of relief for capital gains realised by pension funds are not included because of estimation difficulties. (3) Assuming that lump sum payments in unfunded schemes represent the same proportion of total benefit as that observed for funded schemes, and assuming relief at the basic rate of tax. On the same assumption the cost of all lump sums would be around £2.5 billion for 2008-09. (4) Assuming that pension payments represent the top slice of taxable income. (5) On the basis that under present arrangements, employer contributions are not subject to a national insurance charge. 
		
	
	The breakdowns of the relief requested in (b), (c) and (d) for each year are not readily available. However, the following estimates have been made for the tax year 2009-10:
	(b) The relief in respect of standard rate taxpayers is estimated to be one third of the total.
	(c) The relief in respect of higher rate taxpayers is estimated to be two thirds of the total.
	(d) The following table shows the approximate percentage of total tax relief by income decile of all tax payers:
	
		
			 For all taxpayers 
			 2009-10 tax year 
			 Income decile  Percentage of total relief 
			 Bottom decile 1 1 
			  2 1 
			  3 1 
			  4 2 
			  5 3 
			  6 4 
			  7 6 
			  8 8 
			  9 17 
			 Top decile 10 58 
		
	
	If relief on pension contributions were limited to the basic rate of tax, the amount of this relief would fall by approximately one third. This estimate does not take account of behavioural effects, which are likely to be large.
	The reductions in the annual allowance and lifetime allowance from 2011-12 will reduce the cost of relief by around £4 billion per annum, almost all of which will relate to the top income decile.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Advertising: Children

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of trends in the level of advertising aimed at children in the last 30 years; and what assessment he has made of the effects of such advertising on children.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has made no such assessments himself, but the effects of certain advertising on children is considered by the Committee of Advertising Practice and its broadcasting equivalent in establishing their codes and by Ofcom and was also recently examined by Reg Bailey in his review of the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood.

Broadband: Hertfordshire

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether his broadband objectives include completing the full roll-out of superfast broadband in North East Hertfordshire constituency.

Edward Vaizey: The Government aim to ensure that 90% of UK premises have access to superfast broadband and the remainder have access to at least 2Mbps broadband by 2015, including in Hertfordshire and have made available £530 million to assist the delivery of these objectives.

Cultural Heritage: Kent

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to preserve heritage sites in Kent.

John Penrose: English Heritage has recently launched the National Heritage Protection Plan, which sets out why, what and how England's vulnerable historic environment is to be safeguarded in the next four years. Developed in consultation with a wide range of partners, it shows where the threats are the greatest and will help English Heritage to prioritise its work. It will also help other heritage professionals and volunteers to contribute to the business of managing England's heritage. This Department and English Heritage are also considering various measures to tackle the problem of buildings which have been on the Heritage At Risk Register for an extended period of time.
	English Heritage offered over £400,000 to projects in Kent in 2009-10 under its two main grant programmes. English Heritage grant-aid has helped preserve important heritage sites at Shurland Hall, Sheppey, the No 1 Smithery at Chatham Historic Dockyard and at Westenhanger Castle in Folkestone. Survey work on the Hoo Peninsula undertaken by English Heritage is extending understanding and protection to a little-studied landscape under considerable pressure for change. In Margate, Dover, Gravesend and the Medway towns, a number of heritage assets have been assessed for statutory designation in a series of Defined Area Surveys (some of which are ongoing), resulting in a number of newly listed buildings and scheduled monuments.

Departmental Billing

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what proportion of invoices from small and medium-sized businesses were paid by his Department within five working days of receipt in the last 12 months for which figures are is available.

John Penrose: The Department's payment systems do not currently distinguish between payments to large and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Both are given equal priority.
	During the period June 2010 to May 2011, the Department's overall performance against the Government's target of paying 80% of valid invoices within five working days was 74.1%.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many requests under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received from (a) hon. Members from each political party and (b) members of the public in each year since the Act's entry into force.

John Penrose: The Department does not record details of FOI requests in this way. All requests received under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 are treated the same, irrespective of the professional or political position of the applicant.
	Since the Freedom of Information Act 2000 came into force in January 2005 the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) have published statistics, including the number of FOI cases received by this Department, on their website
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/foi/implementation.htm

Digital Broadcasting

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking in respect of technical standards and frequency allocations to minimise the likelihood of future switchovers;
	(2)  what consideration his Department has given to the use of coverage characteristics of Band I for digital broadcasting.

Edward Vaizey: Ofcom are responsible for managing the radio spectrum to ensure its most optimal use in delivering benefits to UK consumers and citizens. The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), meets regularly with Ofcom to discuss specific or general spectrum management issues and this includes possible future uses of particular bands. The Secretary of State has had no such discussion on the possible use of Band I for digital broadcasting.

Digital Economy Act 2010

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he plans to respond to the report from the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression on the Digital Economy Act 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: The Government have responded to the Human Rights Council, welcoming the Special Rapporteur's report and supporting the general thrust of his conclusions and recommendations. The Government share the view that access to the internet is extremely important. However, it is also important to seek to safeguard intellectual property, and Government must set the balance in a fair and proportionate way. The Government's response was published on 3 June 2011 on the website for the UK Mission to the UN:
	http://ukungeneva.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/our-work/human-rights

Internet: Copyright

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions his Department has had with (a) internet service providers and (b) copyright holders on proposals to introduce website blocking; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: The Government are regularly in discussion with all relevant parts of industry about ways to reduce online copyright infringement. As a part of that wider dialogue, Government have hosted two discussions between copyright owners, internet service providers, search engines and consumer representation on issues around blocking access to websites that are focused primarily on infringing copyright. These took place on 4 April and 15 June 2011, at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Museums and Galleries

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will take steps to increase the autonomy of museums.

Jeremy Hunt: My officials are in ongoing discussions with the museums and other Government Departments to determine how national museums can be given greater administrative freedoms.

Olympic and Paralympic Transport Plan

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what role his Department is playing in preparation of the final Olympic and Paralympic Transport Plan.

Jeremy Hunt: The Department for Transport (DFT) is the Government Department leading on transport for the Olympic and Paralympic games in 2012. Both DFT and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have worked closely with the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) on the delivery of the Olympic Transport Plans that have been published to date.
	Following publication of the First Edition of the Olympic Transport Plan in October 2007, and the consultation version of the Second Edition in December 2009, the final version of the Second Edition of the ODA's Transport Plan for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games was published on 1 June 2011. At this time, there is no intention to issue a third edition unless there is a material change.

Olympic Games 2012

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of applications for tickets to the London 2012 Olympics which were received in the first application round; and how many of those applicants received tickets for (a) 20 events or more, (b) 10 to 19 events, (c) five to nine events, (d) two to four events, (e) one event and (f) no events.

Hugh Robertson: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has made no such estimate. The London 2012 Organising Committee is responsible for the ticketing arrangements for the Olympic Games. They have confirmed 1.9 million applications were received in the first round. 700,000 applicants were successful, being allocated 3 million tickets. Each successful applicant, on average, secured between four and five tickets which totalled around £275. Those that were not successful were given priority in the second round of sales.

Public Appointments

Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many and what proportion of public appointees to his Department's public bodies made by (a) his Department, (b) the Prime Minister, (c) the Crown and (d) the boards of those bodies since May 2010 had a known political affiliation; and what those affiliations were in each such case.

Jeremy Hunt: Information on my Department's individual public appointments, including any political activity declared by those persons appointed, is published on our website, in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/about_us/public_appointments/1006.aspx

Radio Spectrum

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effects of allocating more than 16 MHz of Band III to local DAB radio on local FM stations that occupy 9 MHz of Band II.

Edward Vaizey: No specific assessment has been made of the impact of allocating Band III spectrum for local DAB on FM stations which occupy Band II. However, we note that the vast majority of FM stations are simulcast on local DAB, providing these stations with the potential for greater coverage and improved reception and functionality for listeners. In 2010 the Government launched the Digital Radio Action Plan to consider the case for a radio switchover which would, if implemented, allow for the re-allocation of much of the Band II spectrum currently used for radio for other purposes.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Beaches: Sunderland

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure that beaches in the Sunderland area are (a) clean and (b) safe for bathing.

Richard Benyon: Sunderland city council is responsible for the day to day cleanliness of its beaches. The Environment Agency (EA) and Sunderland city council have completed surveys of the beaches that found very little evidence of any significant pollution. Occasionally small amounts of sewage-related debris are found from storm sewage overflows. This is a minor problem and appropriate clean-ups are carried out.
	The EA monitors the quality of bathing water throughout the bathing season from May to September. Since 1995, Sunderland's designated bathing waters have always met the ‘mandatory’ bathing water quality standard under the Bathing Waters Directive. In eight of the last ten years they have also met the higher ‘excellent’ standard. These are very good results for bathing waters so close to a large urban area, and demonstrate that the sewerage systems put in place to protect the water quality are performing well.
	The EA has compared the bathing water results to the tighter standards in the revised Bathing Water Directive, which comes into force in 2015. This predicts that designated bathing waters in the area will meet the ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ standards, which is over and above the ‘sufficient’ standard required. The EA will continue to monitor to ensure that this remains the case.

Departmental Official Cars

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost to her Department was of the provision of ministerial cars in each financial year between 2000-01 and 2010-11; how many (a) cars for the exclusive use of Ministers and (b) ministerial car journeys were paid for by her Department in each such year; what the average cost to her Department of a ministerial car journey was in each such year; and what steps her Department has taken to reduce the cost of ministerial cars since her appointment.

Richard Benyon: The costs of ministerial cars for DEFRA is as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Number of ministerial cars Cost of ministerial cars   (£) 
			 2005-06 5 319,700 
			 2006-07 5 324,500 
			 2007-08 4 267,800 
			 2008-09 4 262,400 
			 2009-10 2 275,989 
		
	
	Details of the costs for 2010-11 are being compiled and are due for release in July 2011. Information prior to 2005 is not available and would be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Since the introduction of the ‘on-demand' Ministerial Car Service on 6 September 2010 DEFRA Ministers have made 30 car journeys through this service up until 31 March 2011. Since my appointment we have reduced number of permanent cars used for ministerial travel to one.

Departmental Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the name is of each regulatory measure revoked by her Department between 1 March and 31 May 2011; and what estimate she has made of the potential annual saving to those affected by each revocation.

James Paice: The Department repealed the following 18 statutory instruments between 1 March 2011 and 31 May 2011:
	1. The Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991 (SI 1991/2839), in so far as they apply to England and Wales.
	2. The Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/1056), in so far as they apply to England and Wales.
	3. The Controlled Waste (Registration of Carriers and Seizure of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/605), in so far as they apply to England and Wales.
	4. The Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/63).
	5. The Environmental Protection Act (Amendment of Section 57) (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/3026).
	6. The Animal By-Products Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/2347), so far as they apply in England.
	7. The Avian Influenza (H5N1) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2007 (SI 2007/3303).
	8. The Animal By-Products (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/1119).
	9. The Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Measures) (Penalty Notices) Order 2008 (SI 2008/984), except in so far as it applies in Wales or to the Welsh Zone.
	10. The Environmental Impact Assessment and Natural Habitats (Extraction of Minerals by Marine Dredging) (Wales) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2610).
	11. The Environmental Impact Assessment and Natural Habitats (Extraction of Minerals by Marine Dredging) (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/1067).
	12.The Marine Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/2258).
	13.The Smoke Control Areas (Exempted Fireplaces) (England) (No. 2) Order 2010 (SI 2010/2173).
	14. The Environment Agency (Levies) Regulations 1993 (SI 1993/61).
	15. The Local Fisheries Committees (Fees for Copy Byelaws) Order 1993 (SI 1993/1116).
	16. The North Western and North Wales Sea Fisheries District (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Order 2010 (SI 2010/631).
	17. The Seed Marketing Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/2605).
	18. The Poultry Meat (Water Content) Regulations 1984 (1984/1145).
	Information on the equivalent annual net saving to business of DEFRA's domestic regulations repealed between 1 January and 30 June 2011 was published in the Government's ‘One-in, One-out: Statement of New Regulation’ published in April 2011 and which is available to view at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/better-regulation/docs/o/11-p96a-one-in-one-out-new-regulation.pdf
	The overall effect was an equivalent annual net saving to business of £28,000 arising from DEFRA's regulations.

Food: Reserves

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what contribution her Department plans to make to the G20 Development Working Group on the deployment of emergency food stocks.

Stephen O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK is generally supportive of G20 plans to develop strategic regional humanitarian food reserves under the leadership of the World Food Programme (WFP) as outlined in the G20 Agriculture Ministers Action Plan launched on the 23 June 2011.
	I am clear, however, that the proposal for a pilot study must include a feasibility study and cost benefit analysis and must provide evidence that this kind of approach is more cost effective than other approaches to addressing acute food insecurity. Department for International Development officials will participate in the design of the pilot and will be represented on the high level stakeholder workshop in September at which WFP's draft proposal will be discussed.

Reservoirs

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what definition she uses of a community for the purposes of guidance issued under the Reservoir Act 1975.

Richard Benyon: Current non-statutory guidance used by Reservoirs Act panel engineers states that, for the purposes of the guidance, a “community” is considered to be not less than about 10 persons who could be affected by a disastrous breach as a result of the under-provision of spillway capacity.

Reservoirs

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what definition is used to define (a) a bund or (b) a reservoir for flood defence purposes; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Neither of these terms has a legal definition, but for practical purposes the following definitions are commonly used:
	(a) a flood defence bund is an embankment designed to prevent flood water flowing from a watercourse and flooding adjacent land;
	(b) a flood storage reservoir is a structure or area designed to store water from a watercourse for a period of time to reduce the risk of flooding downstream. This water is later released when the risk of flooding has receded.

Reservoirs

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what legislation prevents the use of a railway embankment for containment of water; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The legislation that could prevent the use of a railway embankment for containment of water is Schedule 22 of the Water Resources Act 1991. This states that works which directly or indirectly interfere with works or property vested in or under the control of a railway company (or the use of such works or property) so as to affect injuriously those works or that property cannot be carried out without consent. Consent may be given by the railway company subject to reasonable conditions, but cannot unreasonably be withheld.

Reservoirs

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has plans to bring forward proposals to amend the Reservoirs Act 1975 and the associated guidance; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Proposals to amend the Reservoirs Act 1975 and the associated guidance will be brought forward as part of the implementation of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

Tyre Bales

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what timetable her Department has set for research and investigation to develop a quality protocol for tyre bales to meet the end-of-waste criteria and cease to be waste.

Richard Benyon: Quality protocols identify the point at which waste has been fully recovered and may be regarded as a non-waste product or material, and supplied into markets without the need for waste management controls. Developing quality protocols to unlock such markets is a joint effort between the sector concerned, the Environment Agency and the Waste and Resources Action Programme. This involves some industry funding, which is a commercial decision for the sector involved.
	There is no set timetable for the development of a quality protocol for tyre bales. Work on assessing the feasibility of such a protocol has started, but further research needs to be undertaken, with industry funding.

Water

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will instruct Thames Water to ensure there is independent monitoring of any future feasibility studies that may be required in the preparation of a revised draft Water Resources Management Plan.

Richard Benyon: Under the water resources management planning process, it is for Thames Water to undertake the work necessary to inform its revised draft plan. When determining the robustness of the work, and whether to agree that the revised draft plan should be published, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), will consider how Thames Water has taken into account the comments and concerns raised by third parties. The Secretary of State will also be seeking the advice of the Environment Agency.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Fuel Smuggling

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with HM Revenue and Customs on revenue losses attributable to fuel smuggling and other illegal activities in border regions of Northern Ireland.

Hugo Swire: My officials liaise closely with HM Revenue and Customs, which is the lead department on fuel smuggling and related activity in Northern Ireland. As the 2011 Organised Crime Task Force's Threat Assessment makes clear, smuggling remains a significant terrorist revenue source and we support HMRC in their efforts to crack down on it.

Access to Work Programme

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many employees with disabilities in his Department are receiving support from the Access to Work programme; and what proportion of the work force of his Department this figure represents.

Owen Paterson: No member of staff in my Department is currently receiving support from the Access to Work programme.

By-elections: West Belfast

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost to the public purse was of the June 2011 by-election for the West Belfast constituency.

Hugo Swire: A total figure for the cost of holding the by-election is not yet available. However, the Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officer's Charges) (Northern Ireland) Order 2010 specifies that the maximum amount that may be recovered by the returning officer in respect of this election is £130,000.

Constituencies

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the work of the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland in revising constituency boundaries.

Hugo Swire: The proposed distribution of constituencies will be set out by the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland in a review which they hope to publish by the end of the year. It would be inappropriate to comment until then.

Corporation Tax

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the First Ministers of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales on the rate of corporation tax.

Owen Paterson: I have had regular discussions with the First and Deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland on our shared goal of rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy. This includes discussion on the potential benefits of a reduced rate of corporation tax for Northern Ireland. I have also had brief informal discussions with the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales at the British-Irish Council.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions a request for a meeting by an hon. Member of each political party has been refused by (a) a Minister in his Department directly and (b) his Department on behalf of a Minister since May 2010.

Owen Paterson: None.

Inward Investment

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the US Administration on inward investment into Northern Ireland.

Owen Paterson: The lead responsibility for attracting inward investment to Northern Ireland lies with the Executive, but we co-operate closely in support of their efforts.
	I have had regular discussions on inward investment with representatives of the United States Administration, including Secretary Clinton when I met her in Washington.

Parades Commission

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what (a) conferences and (b) meetings held outside Northern Ireland and paid for out of public funds have been attended by each member of the Parades Commission since their appointment;
	(2)  what training courses have been attended by each member of the Parades Commission since their appointment; and what the cost of attendance was at each such course;
	(3)  what (a) remuneration, (b) travel expenses, (c) expenses and (d) other payments have been made to each member of the Parades Commission since their appointment.

Owen Paterson: These are matters for the Parades Commission, which operates independently of Government.
	The right hon. Gentleman may wish to write to the Commission directly on these matters.

Parades Commission

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the work of the Parades Commission since the appointment of the new Commission.

Owen Paterson: I have met with the Parades Commission on a number of occasions since its appointment. I am pleased to see that the new Commission is not shying away from looking at the difficult issues which exist within parading. I would like to commend the members of the Commission for the review of the Commission's processes that they have instigated and look forward to seeing its outworking in the autumn.

Parades Commission

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many meetings he has had with the Parades Commission since the new Commission was appointed.

Owen Paterson: I have met with the Parades Commission on three occasions since the current Commission was appointed on 1 January 2011.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Anguilla: Seas and Oceans

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the state of Anguilla's marine environment.

Henry Bellingham: Responsibility for environmental issues is devolved to the Governments of the Overseas Territories. Anguilla's Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources published in 2010 a document entitled “Status of Anguilla's Marine Resources” which contains an assessment of Anguilla's marine environment.

British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress his Department has made on its Overseas Territories White Paper; and if he will make a statement.

Henry Bellingham: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) to the House on 10 March 2011, Official Report, columns 76-77WS, in which the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs said the Government planned to bring all aspects of the Government's policies on the Overseas Territories together in a new White Paper in the course of the year ahead. This remains the position.

Commonwealth Scholarships

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to Lord Lee of 30 November 2010, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA429, on Commonwealth scholarships, who attended the first meeting of the working group on all government scholarships; what the outcome of the meeting was; and what further meetings are scheduled.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is in regular contact with other Government Departments which fund scholarships, including the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for International Development, for the purposes of sharing information and best practice across different scholarship programmes. We are also in regular contact with other partners involved in scholarships for similar purposes, including the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission, and the British Council. We welcomed the contributions all these bodies made to our recent Chevening review and are collectively considering with them whether there would be merit in establishing a more formal cross-Government working group to provide a forum for our exchanges.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many requests under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received from (a) hon. Members from each political party and (b) members of the public in each year since the Act's entry into force.

Henry Bellingham: The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the volume, timeliness and outcome of information requests received by over 40 central Government bodies. The information provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) today may include data on routine information requests that are not included in the Ministry of Justice's published statistics on Freedom of Information implementation in central Government, so there may be slight variations between the Ministry of Justice's figures on overall requests, and those of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not collect statistics about the background of individual requesters. This is because the Freedom of Information Act is applicant and motive blind and therefore it is not necessary to record or determine whether a requestor is a Member of Parliament or member of the public. However, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has checked its records and is able to provide figures for requests where the requestor has been readily identifiable as a Member of Parliament, or from the office of an MP or which have been sent by an MP on behalf of a constituent. Divided on party lines and beginning when the Act came into operation in January 2005, they are as are as follows:
	From MPs :
	2005
	Labour: 6
	Liberal Democrat: 2
	Conservative: 1
	2006
	Labour: 2
	Liberal Democrat: 4
	Conservative: 11
	2007
	Labour: 2
	Liberal Democrat: 12
	Conservative: 9
	Plaid Cymru: 1
	2008
	Labour: 4
	Liberal Democrat: 3
	Conservative: 12
	2009
	DUP: 1
	Labour: 3
	Liberal Democrat: 5
	Conservative: 9
	2010
	Labour: 25
	Conservative: 10
	Liberal Democrat: 1
	2011 (until 31 March)
	Labour: 1
	Liberal Democrat: 0
	Conservative: 1
	Total number of requests received:
	2005: 1,315
	2006: 1,030
	2007: 1,027
	2008: 1,024
	2009: 1,135
	2010: 1,185
	2011 (until 31 March): 362.

Departmental Official Cars

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost to his Department was of the provision of ministerial cars in each financial year between 2000-01 and 2010-11; how many (a) cars for the exclusive use of Ministers and (b) ministerial car journeys were paid for by his Department in each such year; what the average cost to his Department of a ministerial car journey was in each such year; and what steps his Department has taken to reduce the cost of ministerial cars since his appointment.

Henry Bellingham: Written ministerial statements disclosing the cost of ministerial official cars provided by the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) have been made each year from July 2007 and provide information for financial years from 2005-06. The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), made the most recent statement on 28 October 2010, Official Report, column 23WS, relating to the period 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010. Costs for GCDA in 2010-11 incurred by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) will be published in due course.
	Since October 2010 FCO Ministers have used vehicles provided by FCO Services wherever possible. The total amount paid to FCO Services between 1 October 2010 and 31 March 2011 for this service which relates specifically to ministerial usage is £49,251.
	Additional information on car travel is not held centrally and is available only at disproportionate cost. Section 10 of the Ministerial Code provides guidance on travel for Ministers and makes clear that Ministers must ensure that they always make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements.

Iraq: Christianity

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the treatment of Christians in Iraq.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has received and continues to receive regular representations from parliamentarians and members of the public about the situation of Christians in Iraq. The number of representations rose sharply after the tragic attacks against Christian groups in Iraq in late 2010. We continue to take this issue extremely seriously. Most recently our ambassador to Iraq met Baghdad-based Canon Andrew White to discuss the current situation.
	The Government are greatly concerned about those who are denied the right to freedom of religion or belief. We condemn all instances of violence and discrimination against individuals and groups because of their faith or belief, wherever they occur or whatever the religion of the individual or group concerned. We, together with international partners, regularly make clear to Governments across the region the importance we place on promoting cultural and religious tolerance and on eliminating all legal provisions and policies which discriminate against different religious communities.

Libya: Politics and Government

Kwasi Kwarteng: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department is taking steps to support the National Transitional Council in Benghazi in respect of (a) provision of currency and (b) other matters.

Alistair Burt: The UK led the process of designing and setting up the Temporary Financial Mechanism (TFM) to provide financial support on a transitional basis through the Contact Group. The TFM is now operational and funds are flowing through it.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is also providing the National Transitional Council with a range of other support, including equipment to help improve their capability to protect civilians.

Mongolia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has any plans to visit Mongolia.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) has not yet finalised his travel plans for the next year.
	The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton Deane (Mr Browne) visited Ulaanbaatar from 29-31 May. He held productive discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister, the Education Minister, the State Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade and a range of British and Mongolian business leaders.

Mongolia: Foreign Relations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the state of the UK's relations with Mongolia.

Alistair Burt: The UK enjoys good relations with Mongolia. Our officials speak regularly on a range of issues and the armed forces of both our countries operate in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan. The UK has significant commercial interests in Mongolia, which we hope to expand in the coming years.

Pakistan: Religious Freedom

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of the ability of each religious community in Pakistan to (a) exercise its faith, (b) observe its (i) holidays and (ii) weekly day of rest and (c) administer its internal affairs; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: There are many civil society groups who report on the rights of religious minority groups. We engage regularly with them on these issues, and their reports are assessed along with other information to influence how we address our efforts in this area. Reports continue to suggest that minority groups in some areas in Pakistan experience discrimination in the practice of their religion.
	We are concerned about the human rights situation in Pakistan, including treatment of minority religious groups. We call on the Government of Pakistan to uphold the fundamental rights of all Pakistanis, regardless of their faith or ethnicity. We engage regularly with both the Ministry for Inter-faith Harmony and Minority Affairs, and with the Ministry of Human Rights.
	During my visit to Pakistan in May 2011,1 met with members of the Government sponsored Interfaith Council in Pakistan. I also recently met with Paul Bhatti, Pakistan's Special Advisor for Religious Minorities, at a seminar at Wilton Park on religious freedom. Engagement at both the bilateral and the multilateral (EU) level helps to ensure that the Government of Pakistan are aware of the importance with which we hold these issues.

Western Sahara: Politics and Government

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the proposed Moroccan autonomy plan; and whether it provides for self-determination for Western Sahara.

Alistair Burt: The UK supports the UN Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy, Christopher Ross, in their efforts to resolve the dispute in Western Sahara and to find a negotiated political settlement, providing for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. As set out in Security Council Resolution 1871, we regard the Moroccan Autonomy Plan as a serious and credible contribution to those efforts.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Anguilla: Environment Protection

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assistance his Department has provided to promote environmental awareness in Anguilla.

Alan Duncan: Anguilla has benefited from several DFID-funded initiatives over the past few years: The Overseas Territories Environment Programme (OTEP) is jointly funded and managed by DFID and the FCO and totals £2 million over four years; the Enhancing Capacity for Adaptation to Climate Change (ECACC) project in the Caribbean, which works with a number of Caribbean governments, including Anguilla, to help them adapt to climate change; an initiative to help Overseas Territories engage in international climate change negotiations. This allowed Anguilla to have a stronger engagement in the development of a UK Government position in the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change Conference of Parties at Mexico in December 2010.
	Each of these projects has promoted environmental awareness in Anguilla. They have helped to build understanding amongst Anguilla's population of the value of a sound environment to underpin economic growth.

Departmental Billing

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of invoices from small and medium-sized businesses were paid by his Department within five working days of receipt in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not hold payment performance information specifically relating to small and medium-sized businesses.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many requests under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received from (a) hon. Members from each political party and (b) members of the public in each year since the Act's entry into force.

Alan Duncan: The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the total number of Freedom of Information requests received by central Government Departments on its website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/foi/implementation.htm
	The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 requires public authorities to treat each FOI request entirely on its own merits and in a manner that is both purpose and applicant blind. The Department for International Development (DFID) does not, therefore, analyse information by type of applicant.

Developing Countries: Family Planning

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department plans to allocate to (a) the United Nations Population Fund, (b) Marie Stopes International and (c) the International Planned Parenthood Federation in the comprehensive spending review period; whether his Department places restrictions on the use of such funds; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) will provide up to £80 million to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in core funding over the 2011-14 period. Core funding for the first two years is set at £20 million per annum. Funding for the following two years will be contingent on an assessment of UNFPA's progress in implementing priority reforms. There are no other conditionalities on the use of the core funding.
	DFID will provide £8.6 million to the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) over the 2011-13 period. This funding can be used flexibly by IPPF as long as they are able to meet the objectives and measurable performance indicators that have been agreed by DFID.
	We are in the late stages of negotiating a Programme Partnership Arrangement (PPA) with Marie Stopes International. This should be finalised in late July or early August.

Developing Countries: Health Services

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking in preparation for the special UN meeting on health workers in September 2011.

Alan Duncan: The Secretary of State has received an invitation to participate in an event on health workers organised by Save the Children and others on 20 September in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The Department for International Development (DFID) fully recognises the central importance of health workers in accelerating progress towards our health goals. Better access to health services in all countries depends on there being skilled and motivated health workers, in the right place at the right time. Preparations are under way across Her Majesty's Government (HMG), including within DFID, on policy priorities and objectives, as well as plans for ministerial attendance, over the week of UNGA in September.

Developing Countries: Primary Education

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to support international efforts to increase the number of girls in primary education in developing countries; and if he will assess the merits of making this issue one of his Department's performance indicators.

Andrew Mitchell: The Government are placing girls and women at the centre of our aid programme. All Department for International Development (DFID) education programmes will have a focus on girls and young women. We are working with existing and new development partners to combine general support to education systems with targeted interventions to address girls' drop out rates and support their transition to lower secondary schooling. Following a comprehensive review of all UK aid programmes the Government plan to support at least 9 million children in primary school, over half of whom will be girls, and 2 million children in secondary school by 2014.
	DFID will track completion of a full cycle of primary education (for girls and for boys) as a key indicator in each of our partner countries where we have education programmes.

INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS AUTHORITY COMMITTEE

Complaints

Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what the rationale is for the four digit reference numbering system used to record complaints registered with the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority Compliance Officer.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Compliance Officer for IPSA, who is statutorily independent of IPSA's executive branch. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Luke March, dated June 2011
	As the Compliance Officer for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the rationale is for the four digit reference numbering system used to record complaints registered with the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority Compliance Officer.
	The four digit numbering system is a method of allocating a unique reference number to identify individual cases.

Complaints

Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what the reasons were for the time taken by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority Compliance Officer to investigate complaint 3058, lodged on 21 December 2010.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Compliance Officer for IPSA, who is statutorily independent of IPSA's executive branch. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Luke March, dated June 2011
	As the Compliance Officer for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the reasons were for the time taken by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority Compliance Officer to investigate complaint 3058 lodged on 21 December 2010.
	By virtue of the powers conferred by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (CRAG), there is a legal requirement for the Compliance Officer to be in office in order to conduct investigations and reviews. There was no statutory Compliance Officer in post between 10 November 2010 and the appointment of the permanent Compliance Officer on 31 March 2011.

Complaints

Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, if the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority will estimate the costs of conducting an investigation into complaint 3058 lodged with the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority Compliance Officer.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Compliance Officer for IPSA, who is statutorily independent of IPSA's executive branch. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Luke March, dated June 2011
	As the Compliance Officer for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking if he will estimate the cost of conducting an investigation into complaint 3058 lodged with the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority Compliance Officer.
	The Compliance Officer is as yet unable to determine the cost of the investigation which began on 13 April 2011.

Members: Complaints

Bob Russell: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, on what date the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) compliance office commenced operations; how many staff are engaged to work in the office; what the (a) job title and (b) salary is of each post in that office; and what estimate IPSA has made of the annual cost of operating the office.

Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Compliance Officer for IPSA, who is statutorily independent of IPSA's executive branch. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Luke March, dated June 2011
	As the Compliance Officer for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking on what date the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority Compliance Office (IPSA) commenced operations; how many staff are engaged to work in the office; what the (a) job title and (b) salary is of each post in that office; and what estimate IPSA has made of the annual cost of operating the office.
	The interim Compliance Officer was appointed on 10 May 2010 to establish the Office and to develop policies and procedures. The first Compliance Officer appointed under the statute took office on 31 March 2011; on a salary of £43,000 for three days a week.
	The office of the Compliance Officer employs two full time members of staff.
	(a) The Investigations Manager, salary scale £46,000 - £51,000;
	(b) Investigations Officer, salary scale £23,000 - £28,000.
	For the year to 31 March 2011, the cost of operating the Compliance Office was £307,000 including salaries and overheads.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Sequestration

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the UK's performance in developing carbon capture and storage.

Charles Hendry: The UK remains at the forefront of global activity for the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS). The allocation last year of up to £1 billion for the capital costs of the first CCS demonstration project is the largest confirmed public funding commitment to a single commercial-scale CCS project in the world.
	The Government have also committed to providing public sector investment for a further three commercial-scale CCS projects and made significant investments in a number of smaller scale projects; for example, £6.3 million in the Ferrybridge Carbon Capture 100+ pilot project and £1.6 million in the Oxyfuel/Oxycoal 2 pilot in Renfrew. This investment in demonstrating the technology is underpinned by our proposed energy market reforms, designed to drive commercial investment in new low-carbon generation including CCS.
	The forthcoming CCS Roadmap, due to be published in the autumn, will set out further information regarding progress so far and future aims for the development of CCS.
	There is also a statutory requirement under the Energy Act 2010 for the Government to report on progress in decarbonising the Great British electricity system and on the development and use of CCS. The first reporting period ends in 2011, with further periods running on a three-year basis starting in 2012. The first of these reports will be published in due course.

Fukushima

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 21 June 2011, Official Report, column 5WS, on Fukushima (Interim Report), whether he plans to involve (a) nuclear licensed site stakeholder groups and (b) local non-governmental organisations in the review of emergency planning arrangements; and whether he plans to publish in full the final report of the review.

Charles Hendry: Local non-governmental organisations have the opportunity to engage on local nuclear emergency arrangements through nuclear licensed site stakeholder groups. Local issues may be represented by local authority representatives involved in the review.
	The conclusions of the review of arrangements will be reflected in updated guidance which is publicly available at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/nuclear/safety_and_sec/emergency_plan/neplg/guidance/guidance.aspx

Fukushima

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 21 June 2011, Official Report, column 5WS, on Fukushima (Interim Report), what resources will be provided to support the planned review by the Nuclear Emergency Planning Liaison Group of the UK's national nuclear emergency arrangements; what completion deadline he has given for the report; and whether he plans to publish the full report of the review.

Charles Hendry: The Nuclear Emergency Planning Liaison Group's planned review of the UK's national nuclear emergency arrangements will be supported by the Department of Energy and Climate Change's dedicated Civil Nuclear Emergency Planning Team. The conclusions of the review of arrangements will be reflected in guidance which will be updated before the chief inspector's final report in the autumn. The guidance is publicly available at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/nuclear/safety_and_sec/emergency_plan/neplg/guidance/guidance.aspx

Public Sector: Energy

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he plans a national roll-out of the Re:Fit public sector energy efficiency retrofit programme.

Gregory Barker: Energy efficiency in the public sector is important in order to reduce carbon emissions and to save money spent on energy bills. Re:Fit is an effective model, and is proving to be a success in London. I would encourage other regions and local authorities to learn from the Greater London Authority experience in order to improve their own energy efficiency.

HEALTH

Abortion: Counselling

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  under which provisions of the Abortion Act 1967, as amended by the Human Fertilisation Act 1990, he proposes to sever the financial links between abortion providers and counselling; for what reasons these provisions have never previously been invoked; what criteria will be used to determine the independent character of counselling; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what (a) regulations and (b) amendable legislative proposals he plans to lay before the House to alter the arrangements governing abortion counselling; what timetable he has set for the laying of such provisions; if he will publish each item of correspondence with hon. Members relating to this issue; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: We are drawing up proposals to enable all women who are seeking an abortion to be offered access to independent counselling. The current arrangements for counselling related to abortion services can be varied within the existing statutory framework for the commissioning of such services. The Health and Social Care Bill, now before Parliament, expands that framework. These proposals would not affect any of the current provisions of the Abortion Act 1967.
	We would want the counselling to be provided by appropriately qualified individuals. Independent counselling will focus on risks to health posed by both the abortion procedure and continuing with the pregnancy enabling a woman to make a decision that would benefit her overall health and wellbeing.
	We will seek the permission of hon. Members to publish correspondence on this issue.

Care Homes

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to monitor changes in the level of care home fees in England;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to monitor changes in the number of placements available in care homes in England.

Paul Burstow: There has been no change in the Department's long standing policy of not collecting data on the levels of care home fees in England.
	The Care Quality Commission, as regulator of health and adult social care services, registers all care and nursing homes and numbers of available places in England. The numbers of care home placements arranged or funded by local authorities in England are monitored via the annual report on social care provision, “Community Care Statistics: Social Services Activity Report, England”, which is published in April each year by the NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care.
	Further information is available on the Information Centre website at:
	http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/social-care/adult-social-care-information/community-care-statistics-social-services-activity-england-2009-10-further-release

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of bowel cancer were detected as a result of the bowel cancer screening programme in each year since its inception; and what estimate he has made of the number of additional cases which would have been detected if the age limit for screening had been reduced to 50.

Paul Burstow: The number of cancers detected by the NHS bowel cancer screening programme in each year since its inception has been provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of cancers detected 
			 2006 40 
			 2007 585 
			 2008 1,701 
			 2009 2,380 
			 2010 3,264 
			 2011 (to 31 May) 1,633 
		
	
	No estimate has been made of the number of additional cases that would have been detected if the age limit for screening were reduced to 50. The original programme only invited people in their 60s because the risk of bowel cancer increases with age, with over 80% of bowel cancers arising in people who are 60 or over.
	In the pilot, over three times more cancers were detected in people aged over 60 than under 60, and people in their 60s were most likely to complete a testing kit.
	‘Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer’, published on 12 January 2011, sets out how we have committed to invest £60 million between 2011 and 2014 to incorporate flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) into the NHS bowel screening programme. Men and women from age 55 will be invited for a once only bowel scope prior to commencing faecal occult blood testing from age 60, as now. Experts estimate FS will save around 3,000 lives every year.

Day Care

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to monitor changes in the number of day care placements in local authorities.

Paul Burstow: Changes in the numbers of people receiving day care funded either wholly or partly by local authorities in England are monitored via the annual report on social care provision, "Community Care Statistics: Social Services Activity Report, England", which is published in April each year by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care.
	Further information is available on the Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/social-care/adult-social-care-information/community-care-statistics-social-services-activity-england-2009-10-further-release

Departmental Billing

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of invoices from small and medium-sized businesses were paid by his Department within five working days of receipt in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: The Department does not keep separate statistics in relation to small and medium-sized businesses, but aims to pay all invoices within five days regardless of the size of the supplier. Performance against that target is published on the Department's website as required by Cabinet Office.
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Aboutus/HowDHworks/Servicestandardsandcommitments/DH_117222
	In the period 1 June 2010 to 31 May 2011 the Department paid 92.54% of all valid invoices received at our nominated address within five days of receipt.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many requests under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received from (a) hon. Members from each political party and (b) members of the public in each year since the Act's entry into force.

Simon Burns: The information on the number of Freedom of Information requests from hon. Members by each political party is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Freedom of information (FOI) requests from hon. Members by political party 
			 Year (January to December) Conservative party Labour party Liberal Democrat party 
			 2005 3 1 5 
			 2006 23 0 6 
			 2007 8 3 19 
			 2008 5 1 12 
			 2009 4 1 8 
			 2010 3 33 3 
		
	
	These figures may not represent all FOI requests from hon. Members as we only record those that are clearly stated as being from an hon. Member.
	The Department does not collect information on the number of requests from members of the public. In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, all requests are dealt with equitably and the Department's correspondence database does not categorise FOI questions using the term ‘members of the public’.
	However, the total number of requests received by the Department each year since the FOI Act 2000 came into force is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Total number of FOI requests received by the Department 
			 Year (January to December) Total number of FOI requests received by the Department of Health 
			 2005 1,203 
			 2006 1,411 
			 2007 1,286 
			 2008 1,349 
			 2009 1,897 
			 2010 2,023

Direct Payments

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on the tendering of care home contracts to preferred providers where those service users affected wish to maintain provision with their existing provider via the use of direct payments.

Paul Burstow: The regulations and guidance on direct payments prevent them from being used for care home placements.
	Where a person needs to go into residential care, the local authority should arrange care for them in a care home of their choice. In some cases, councils will have a list of preferred providers. The Choice of Accommodation Directions 1992 ensure that people are given a genuine choice when deciding which care home to live in. The Department issued revised guidance on the directions on 14 October 2004.
	If an individual in the community needs respite care up to four weeks, in a care home, they can use a direct payment to purchase their care.

Direct Payments

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of take-up of the direct payment method of providing social care.

Paul Burstow: The “Vision for Adult Social Care: Capable Communities and Active Citizens”, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library, sets the context for the future direction of adult social care in England. It states that councils should provide personal budgets, preferably as a direct payment, for everyone eligible, by 2013.
	The total number of people receiving self directed support (both direct payments and personal budgets) in 2009-10 was 217,000. Of these there were 107,000 users receiving direct payments, a 24% increase over the previous year. In addition, there were 48,000 carers receiving direct payments, a 56% increase over the previous year. In total, there are 155,000 people in receipt of direct payments.
	This is based on the most recent data published by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care in April 2011.

Health Services: Learning Disability

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to page 22, paragraph 3.59 of the Government's response to the NHS Future Forum Report, what guidance he proposes to provide on the requirements for dedicated professional and clinical leadership with regard to services for people with learning disabilities.

Simon Burns: Subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill, clinical commissioning groups will take on responsibility for commissioning the majority of national health service health care services. The Government's response to the NHS Future Forum Report makes clear that it will strengthen existing duties on clinical commissioning groups to secure professional advice and ensure this advice is from a full range of health professionals where relevant. Clinical commissioning groups will also receive expert support and advice from clinical networks and senates on the design and delivery of services, in order to provide the best care and outcomes for patients.
	Clinical commissioning groups will be supported and held to account by a national NHS Commissioning Board. An amendment has been put forward to provide for the NHS Commissioning Board to issue guidance to commissioning groups on their duty to obtain appropriate professional advice, for example in relation to working with clinical senates and clinical networks. The NHS Commissioning Board will also develop commissioning guidance to support effective commissioning, and promote consistent national Quality Standards produced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to ensure all patients, including those with learning disabilities, receive high quality services.

Home Care Services

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to monitor changes in the number of domiciliary care packages offered by local authorities in England.

Paul Burstow: Changes in the numbers of domiciliary care packages provided by local authorities in England are monitored via the annual report on social care provision, “Community Care Statistics: Social Services Activity Report, England”, which is published in April each year by the NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care.
	Further information is available on the Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/social-care/adult-social-care-information/community-care-statistics-social-services-activity-england-2009-10-further-release

Human Papilloma Virus: Vaccination

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of young women who have experienced side effects from the Cervarix vaccine;
	(2)  what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on side effects from the Cervarix vaccine.

Simon Burns: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) collects information on suspected side effects to vaccines and medicines via the Yellow Card Scheme. Since the Cervarix (human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine) immunisation programme began in September 2008, the MHRA has received 5,479 reports of suspected side effects up to 29 June 2011 (this includes reports in which the brand of HPV vaccine was not specified). This follows administration of more than five million doses of Cervarix across the United Kingdom to date.
	Yellow Card reports relate to ‘suspicions’ that a side effect may have occurred. They may relate to true side effects, or they may be due to coincidental illness. As reports are not necessarily proof that a vaccine or medicine was a cause of the reported illness, the data cannot be used to estimate the true frequency of side effects to the vaccine. The frequency of known side effects from clinical trials is listed in the available product information.
	As with all vaccines and medicines, the MHRA keeps the safety of Cervarix under continual review. The benefits of Cervarix vaccine in protecting against cervical cancer far outweigh any known side effects.
	When the Cervarix immunisation programme began in the UK, the MHRA implemented proactive, real-time safety surveillance. This involved daily review of all suspected side effect reports and an epidemiological approach to detection and evaluation of any new safety ‘signals’. This included review of data from other countries using the vaccine. MHRA published weekly updates on this surveillance via its website as well as summaries in the Drug Safety Update bulletin April 2009, October 2009 and October 2010:
	www.mhra.gov.uk/Safetyinformation/DrugSafetyUpdate/index.htm
	After the second year of the immunisation programme, the MHRA sought independent expert advice from the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) on the safety experience. This followed administration of more than 4.5 million doses of vaccine in the UK up to July 2010. CHM advised that no serious new risks have been identified in association with Cervarix and the balance of risks and benefits of the vaccine remains positive. A detailed safety assessment was published on the MHRA website in October 2010 at:
	www.mhra.gov.uk/HPVvaccine
	As with all vaccines and medicines, the MHRA keeps the safety of Cervarix under continual review.

Mental Health Services

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which professional psychotherapy groups he has met to discuss provision of psychotherapy in NHS settings;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the range of psychological therapies available on the NHS; and if he will assess recent changes in the range of therapies available;
	(3)  what opportunities are provided for mental health patients to rate the services they have received;
	(4)  what opportunities he plans to provide for people using talking therapies to rate the services they have received;
	(5)  what consultation he has carried out on the provision of psychological therapies in the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: The Mental Health Strategy Ministerial Advisory Group, of which I am Chair, includes in its membership representatives of the psychological therapy disciplines.
	It is for the national health service locally to decide how best to meet the needs of its local populations and in doing so they are free to commission a wide range of psychotherapeutic services. In addition, the Department recommends evidence-based, and preferably National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) approved, therapies for the treatment of common mental health problems.
	Following the provision of the NICE guidance on the treatment of depression in October 2009, the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme now offers five therapies for the treatment of depression at step three of the stepped care model (moderate to severe). These are:
	Cognitive behavioural therapy;
	Interpersonal psychotherapy;
	Counselling for depression;
	Dynamic interpersonal therapy; and
	Couples therapy for depression.
	The IAPT programme regularly consults with stakeholders about the development of the programme. The IAPT Programme Board has representatives of both commissioners and service providers from the NHS, voluntary providers, therapists' professional associations, service users, social care and the Department for Work and Pensions.
	IAPT services routinely collect patient satisfaction information. This is collected at the end of assessment, mid-treatment and end of treatment using the IAPT Patient Experience Questionnaire. The questionnaire asks patients to rate services in a number of areas and also invites patients to make comments on their experience of the service.
	The NHS Choices website also provides the opportunity for patients and service users to provide comments and rate health services. This includes mental health services. Service users can provide an overall rating of care; specific ratings of issues including cleanliness, dignity and involvement in decisions; and free text comments. In addition patient comment providers such as Patient Opinion give patients the opportunity to comment through an independent route if they choose.

NHS: Reorganisation

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects on commissioning decisions of the incentives of staff of health providers who are also members of commissioning boards, following the implementation of the provisions of the Health and Social Care Bill.

Simon Burns: The Department published the response to the NHS Future Forum's report on 21 June 2011, which outlined in greater detail arrangements that will ensure there is independent oversight of key governance arrangements, including systems for managing conflicts of interest between commissioners and providers.

Prosthetics

Louise Mensch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the terms of reference are of the consultation on the Murrison report on prosthetic services.

Simon Burns: The Terms of Reference for the Review into NHS Prosthetics Services for military veterans are:
	Gather evidence on the current and future needs of veterans for prosthetics services, and on the provision and cost of services;
	The future funding of high specification, evidence-based prosthetics services within the national health service;
	The possible contribution of personal health budgets and the inclusion of this in continuing health care arrangements;
	How regional variations in service can be minimised;
	The possibility of designating centres of excellence for NHS prosthetics care;
	The effectiveness of the Seriously Injured Leavers Protocol currently being piloted;
	How the transition from the armed forces' prosthetics care to the NHS can be improved including liaison between the new army recovery centres, the four rehabilitation centres in England, Headley Court and the NHS;
	An initiative is in development within the NHS medical directorate to ensure that the NHS deals better with the rehabilitation and recovery needs of the general population. Discussions with clinical advisors to the Department of Health team could consider how to link provision for trauma and after care with these initiatives;
	Longer term implications for the new Defence National Rehabilitation Centre;
	Clarification of responsibilities in the new NHS architecture for commissioning prosthetics services for those leaving the armed forces; and
	The role of service charities in helping to meet the realistic needs of individuals over and above that which the NHS can provide.

Ritalin: Children

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the effects of Ritalin and similar drugs on young children.

Simon Burns: Clinical trials submitted by the marketing authorisation holder (MAH) for Ritalin (methylphenidate) were evaluated at the time of licensing to ensure that it met appropriate standards of safety, quality and efficacy to support its use in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
	Since the marketing of Ritalin, the independent scientific advisory committee, the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) and the Medicines Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have kept its safety under close review. As new data have emerged, product information for prescribers and patients has been updated and advice has been issued.
	In June 2007, the MHRA led a European review of the risks and benefits of Ritalin and sought advice from the CHM and an expert working group whose membership included those with expertise in child and adolescent psychiatry. This European review was requested by the European Commission following concerns over the safety of methylphenidate, particularly the possible risk of cardiovascular disorders (problems affecting the heart and blood vessels) and cerebrovascular disorders (problems affecting the blood vessels in the brain).
	The review considered the available data on efficacy and safety and concluded that the benefits of methylphenidate-containing medicines continue to outweigh their risks, when used in their approved indication for children aged six years or over and adolescents with ADHD, as part of a comprehensive treatment programme.
	The conclusions of this review were communicated to health care professionals in March 2009 through the MHRA's monthly drug safety bulletin, Drug Safety Update.
	The product information of all methylphenidate-containing medicines authorised across Europe, including the patient information leaflets, has been updated to ensure it contains clear, comprehensive information about the effects of methylphenidate and the importance of monitoring children and adolescents throughout their treatment.
	Following this, surveillance measures to review the safety of Ritalin continue.
	The MAH for Ritalin has been asked to conduct studies to further characterise the safety of methylphenidate, particularly the long-term safety. The information from the ongoing studies will be evaluated as soon as it becomes available.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has also published a technology appraisal on methylphenidate, atomoxetine and dexamfetamine (2006) and are following up with recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD (2008).

Skin Cancer: Young People

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of skin melanoma among young people.

Paul Burstow: SunSmart, the national skin cancer prevention campaign run by Cancer Research UK, raises awareness amongst the public and professionals of the risks to health from skin cancer, including melanoma. The SunSmart website
	www.sunsmart.org.uk
	provides information and advice on prevention and early detection of skin cancer. The primary audience for this year's campaign is 16 to 24-year-olds.
	In March, SunSmart also launched a digital campaign entitled ‘Leatha Face’ to raise awareness amongst young people of the skin cancer risks posed by sunbeds. In addition, the Department has published guidance on the implementation of the Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010, which came into force on 1 April 2011 and aims to prevent young people under 18 from being allowed to use sunbeds.

Specialised Services Patient and Public Engagement Steering Group

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on whose instruction the Specialised Services Patient and Public Engagement Steering Group was established; on what date the decision to establish the Group was taken; how (a) patients and (b) members of the public were selected to sit on the Group; and on what dates it has met.

Simon Burns: To support the proposed changes to the commissioning of specialised services, NHS Specialised Services established the Specialised Services Patient and Public Engagement Steering Group at the beginning of the year. The patient representative organisations selected to sit on the group were chosen in partnership with the Specialised Healthcare Alliance. The Group has met on 5 May 2011 and 27 May 2011.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Responsibilities

Peter Bone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on the arrangements for Government in the event that the Prime Minister is incapacitated.

Nicholas Clegg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 February 2011, Official Report, column 923W.

House of Lords: Reform

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what process he plans to follow to enable the devolved legislatures to contribute to consideration of the future of the House of Lords.

Mark Harper: The draft House of Lords Reform Bill extends to the whole of the United Kingdom and addresses matters relating to the Parliament of the United Kingdom which is an “excepted matter” under Schedule 2 to the Northern Ireland Act 1998, and a “reserved matter” under Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998. No relevant powers have been transferred to the National Assembly for Wales or the Welsh Ministers.
	We are always willing to hear the views of the devolved Governments and legislatures through correspondence or discussions within forums such as the Joint Ministerial Committee. The Joint Committee is take evidence from those in each part of the UK including the devolved legislatures.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Business Assistance

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps his Department is taking to increase (a) levels of net capital investment in small and medium-sized businesses, (b) the proportion of managers of small and medium-sized businesses carrying out management or leadership training and (c) the use of ICT by small and medium-sized businesses.

Mark Prisk: The Government have demonstrated their commitment to increasing the level of net capital investment in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) by extending our commitment to the Enterprise Finance Guarantee to unlock up to £2 billion of additional lending to SMEs over the course of the Parliament, working with the banks to establish the Business Growth Fund in order to secure £2.5 billion of finance for growing small and medium firms, and securing an agreement with five banks on the Merlin commitment of £76 billion of gross new lending to small and medium sized enterprises in 2011. Among other measures, Government have also extended our commitment to the Enterprise Capital Fund programme by £200 million over the Parliament, and have announced changes to the Enterprise Investment Scheme that incentivise equity investment in small firms. The Government have also approved, subject to due diligence, a bid to the Regional Growth Fund for a new £50 million business angel co-investment fund.
	In “Skills for Sustainable Growth” published in November 2010, we emphasised the importance of improving leadership and management skills and set out our intention to work with employers, employer bodies, the Trades Union Congress, Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, and others to develop a framework for improving leadership and management skills to encourage high performance working and better use of skills. We are continuing to provide the SME Leadership and Management Programme with priority for support being given to those SMEs that demonstrate a potential for growth, and are looking closely at how best this programme can be integrated or aligned with Business Coaching for Growth from January 2012.
	The Government provide information and advice to SMEs on the use of Information and communication technologies through
	www.businesslink.gov.uk/
	which is the Government's online information (ICT) and advice channel to all businesses. The website includes information on a whole range of issues including detailed guidance on the use of ICT for SMEs.

Businesses: Beckenham

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to reduce the burden of regulation on small and medium-sized enterprises in Beckenham.

Mark Prisk: This Government have set out a clear aim—to leave office having reduced the overall burden of regulation.
	In September, the Government introduced the ‘One-in, One-out rule’ for new regulation so a new regulatory burden cannot be introduced without identifying another to be removed first. In December, we introduced a new approach to transposing EU directives, to end ‘gold plating’ and ensure they are not transposed in such a way that they disadvantage UK businesses relative to their EU competitors. In March we introduced sunset clauses in new regulations that impose a cost on businesses, to ensure they remain relevant and are fit-for-purpose.
	However, we recognise that badly designed regulation and red tape can have a particularly damaging effect on our smallest businesses. In ‘The Plan for Growth’, published alongside the Budget 2011, as part of a package of measures to improve the UK's regulatory environment, the Government announced that micro-businesses (those with fewer than 10 employees) and start-ups would be exempt from all new domestic regulation for three years. We also decided not to extend the Right to Request Time to Train to SMEs, potentially saving SMEs approximately £350 million and not to bring forward the Dual Discrimination provision, saving business up to £3 million per year.
	Last month, the Prime Minister launched the Red Tape Challenge website:
	www.redtapechallenge.cabinetoffice.gov.uk
	which asks the public and businesses to identify regulations that need to be amended or removed. Every few weeks regulations affecting one specific sector or industry will be published on the website. There is also the opportunity to comment on cross-cutting areas of regulation, such as employment law.
	I believe that businesses in the hon. Member’s constituency will feel the benefit of these policies in the months and years ahead, as our ambitious reducing regulation agenda makes a positive difference to the UK's business environment.

Care Homes: Private Sector

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the oral answer of 9 June 2011, Official Report, column 277, what steps he is planning to take to review the business model of companies that provide public services in the care home sector.

Mark Prisk: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 July 2011, Official Report, column 1080W, to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Nick Smith).

Debt Managers Standards Association

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent progress has been made by the Office of Fair Trading in its joint working with the Debt Managers Standards Association on standards in the debt management industry.

Edward Davey: The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) continues to work closely with the Debt Management Standards Association (DEMSA) as it seeks to improve standards in the debt management industry. Such industry engagement is an important and ongoing part of the OFT's action plan announced following the outcome of its Compliance Review published in September 2010.
	DEMSA has an OFT Approved Code which means that members are committed to providing high standards of customer service and ensuring consumer rights are protected.
	Liaison between DEMSA and OFT is ongoing and takes the form of, for instance, engagement and discussion on the OFT's recently revised draft Debt Management Guidance or a more specific exchange of information in relation to a particular member.

Departmental Billing

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of invoices from small and medium-sized businesses were paid by his Department within five working days of receipt in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Edward Davey: In May 2010 a new cross-Government target was introduced that required Departments to pay at least 80% of valid invoices within five working days. The previous target was payment within 10 working days. Over the last 12 months (July 2010 to June 2011 inclusive), the Department has exceeded the 80% target and has paid 95.3% of valid invoices within five working days of receipt.
	For information, the Department publishes its monthly payment performance against the five working day target and this can be found at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/about/procurement/prompt-payment/bis-payment-performance
	The Department does not currently record and publish information about the size of suppliers as this does not fully reflect the number and size of businesses engaged in supplying goods and services. We do not discriminate by size of business because many SMEs can be found within larger supply chains.

Departmental Freedom of Information

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many requests under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received from (a) hon. Members from each political party and (b) members of the public in each year since the Act's entry into force.

Edward Davey: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was created on 5 June 2009 by merging the former Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills (DIUS).
	(a) The number of requests BIS has received since its creation from hon. Members:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2009(1) 10 
			 2010 44 
			 2011(2) 13 
			 (1) From 5 June - 31 December 2009. (2) From 1 January - 31 March 2011. 
		
	
	These figures may not represent all Freedom of Information requests from MP's as we may only record those that are clearly stated as being from an MP. We do not record the political party of the MP.
	(b) The number of requests BIS has received from members of the public since its creation:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2009(1) 190 
			 2010 481 
			 2011(2) 122 
			 (1) From 5 June - 31 December 2009. (2) From 1 January - 31 March 2011.

Departmental Statistics

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what statistical data his Department has ceased to collect in the last year; and what the (a) reasons for and (b) savings arising from each such cessation were.

Edward Davey: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has not ceased any national or official statistical data collection in the last year.

Departmental Visits Abroad

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many overseas visits to what destinations he plans to make in an official capacity in the next 12 months.

Edward Davey: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, intends to visit Turkey, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam in the coming months.

Directors

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people were disqualified from being a director of a company following a recommendation by the Serious Organised Crime Agency in each year since 2006.

Edward Davey: No statistics are maintained of company director disqualifications that have Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) involvement as BIS does not receive specific recommendations from SOCA in respect of director disqualifications.
	The majority of director disqualifications arise after investigation by the Insolvency Service (an executive agency of BIS) of a company that has entered formal insolvency. The Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 is not restricted to issues arising from insolvencies as, for example, section 2 of the Act provides for disqualification on the conviction of an indictable offence.

Export Development Credits: Colombia

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how he will ensure that export development credits are not made available to businesses which require the use of land in Colombia until a national land register has been established which records the land titles of peasant farmers, Afro-Colombians and indigenous peoples.

Edward Davey: The Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) has not received any applications for support in connection with exports to Colombia. If ECGD was approached, its support would be provided in accordance with the OECD “Revised Council Recommendation on Common Approaches on the Environment and Officially Supported Export Credits” (the Common Approaches). Applications for ECGD support that fall within the ambit of the Common Approaches are screened by ECGD for potential environmental, social and human rights impacts, including the impacts of land acquisition and involuntary resettlement. Under the Common Approaches, relevant projects are required to meet international standards, usually those of the World Bank Group. This includes the International Finance Corporation's Performance Standard 5, which covers land acquisition and involuntary resettlement issues.
	ECGD has published guidance on its website on the processes and factors in ECGD's consideration of applications. This guidance explains the applicability of the Common Approaches to the provision of its support for export contracts.

Higher Education: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many higher education institutions were deemed to be at risk by the Higher Education Funding Council for England in the most recent period for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: holding answer 5 July 2011
	The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is responsible for monitoring the financial health of the Higher Education institutions and for providing advice and support where appropriate. To protect the viability of institutions at risk, and with the agreement of the Information Commissioner, HEFCE releases information on institutions assessed to be at higher risk three years after the assessment was made. The most recent available information relates to November 2007, when there were six institutions in HEFCE's ‘at higher risk’ category. The Government accepts the Public Accounts Committee's recent recommendation that this approach should be reviewed and will do this in the context of its forthcoming consultation on the future role of HEFCE.

Manufacturing Industry

Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of machine tools procured by the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre were manufactured in the UK.

Mark Prisk: AMRC is an independent research organisation owned by the university of Sheffield. It is only part funded by Government. Procurement decisions are a matter for the organisation itself, and can only be answered through direct correspondence with the centre or the university.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 27 April 2011, Official Report, column 415W, on Afghanistan: peacekeeping operations, what estimate he has made of the cost per flying hour of using (a) Tornado and (b) Harrier aircraft for operations in (i) Afghanistan and (ii) other theatres.

Nick Harvey: holding answer 4 July 2011
	Following reductions to the Harrier Force in 2009 by the previous Government, the Harrier was no longer sufficient in size to meet our requirement in Afghanistan. Hence following the strategic defence and security review the Harrier force is no longer in service.
	The marginal costs per flying hour of Tornado GR4 is £5,000 per hour. These are the direct running costs, principally made up of consumables such as fuel.

Armed Forces: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel resident in the London borough of Bexley received council tax relief during deployment on specified operations overseas in each of the last three years.

Andrew Robathan: This information is not held in the format requested.

Armed Forces: Germany

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the draw-down of troops from Germany.

Nick Harvey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 October 2010, Official Report, column 369W.

Armed Forces: Germany

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements he plans to put in place to implement the draw-down of troops from Germany.

Nick Harvey: It is part of the routine business of Headquarters Land Forces (HQ LF) to plan and manage unit moves. For example, in September 2010 the Army completed the move of HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) and its supporting elements from the Rhine Garrison to Innsworth, Gloucestershire. This move and other scheduled activities were planned before we completed the Strategic Defence and Security Review. Consequently, there is already a team in HQ LF which is carrying out the necessary work. Once we have concluded the basing study, this team will work with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, UK Support Command (Germany) and the German authorities to develop and implement the larger draw-down plan.

Armed Forces: Housing

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what service personnel accommodation his Department provides by (a) type and (b) grade in each local authority area.

Andrew Robathan: A table showing the number of service family accommodation (SFA) properties in the UK, broken down by county, SFA type and standard for condition, as at 30 June 2011 will be placed in the Library of the House.
	Currently 96% of UK SFA is in good condition, and this includes an assessment of the stock in Northern Ireland.
	The number of single living accommodation bed spaces broken down by local authority area is not held.

Armed Forces: Private Education

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel of each rank based at each location received the continuity education allowance (CEA) in each financial year since 2000-01; and how much was paid to service personnel of each rank in CEA in each such year.

Nick Harvey: holding answer 4 July 2011
	The purpose of continuity of education allowance (CEA) is to allow the children of service personnel to achieve a stable education against a background of parental postings both at home, and overseas.
	The amount of CEA paid to each rank from financial year 2007-08 onwards can be found in the following tables. Prior to the implementation of the joint personnel administration system (JPA), this information was held on single service legacy systems and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	I announced to the House on 16 December 2010, Official Report, column 116W, changes to the regulations governing CEA that took effect from 1 April 2011. These changes altered the rules regarding involuntary separated service, transfer to day schooling, the aggregation of claims and the formal review of claims.
	In addition, a dedicated team is being established to ensure probity and compliance of future claims and a review of CEA is being conducted to ensure this expenditure is fully justified.
	I will write to the right hon. Member about the number of service personnel of each rank by location receiving CEA and a copy will be placed in the Library of the House.
	
		
			 Number of personnel in receipt of CEA 
			  Financial year 
			 Army Rank or equivalent 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Lieutenant/Second lieutenant 10 10 10 10 
			 Captain 620 610 640 650 
			 Major 1,070 1,040 1,000 1,020 
			 Lieutenant colonel 1,140 1,150 1,120 1,120 
			 Colonel 470 480 480 460 
			 Brigadier 180 160 160 160 
			 Major general 40 40 40 40 
			 Lieutenant general 10 10 10 (1)— 
			 General (1)— (2)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Private 40 40 70 80 
			 Lance corporal 40 40 50 80 
			 Corporal 360 370 360 380 
			 Sergeant 660 640 680 690 
			 Staff sergeant 720 710 680 660 
			 Warrant officer 2 360 400 470 480 
			 Warrant officer 1 290 280 260 290 
			 Grand total 6,010 5,990 6,020 6,090 
			 (1) Represents five or fewer. (2 )Represents zero. Notes: Rounding has been applied to all figures. When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. Totals have been rounded separately and therefore may not equal the sum of their rounded parts. 
		
	
	
		
			 Amount of CEA paid by rank (£ million) 
			  Financial year 
			 Army   r  ank or equivalent 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Lieutenant/Second lieutenant 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 
			 Captain 10.9 11.6 11.8 12.1 
			 Major 18.8 19.3 19.9 20.4 
			 Lieutenant colonel 23.6 24.9 25.3 25.8 
			 Colonel 9.5 9.8 10.6 11.0 
			 Brigadier 3.5 3.7 3.6 3.6 
			 Major general 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 
			 Lieutenant general 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
			 General 0.1 — 0.1 0.1 
			 Private 0.4 0.7 0.9 1.1 
			 Lance corporal 0.5 0.6 0.7 1.0 
			 Corporal 4.6 5.1 5.0 5.3 
			 Sergeant 9.2 9.8 10.2 10.9 
			 Staff sergeant 10.3 10.9 10.7 10.4 
			 Warrant officer 2 5.3 6.4 7.2 7.6 
			 Warrant officer 1 4.0 4.3 4.4 4.6 
			 Cost of CEA claims 101.8 108.1 111.3 114.9 
			 Cost of Tax and NI for CEA(1) 60.3 64.7 65.6 (2)— 
			 Total cost of CEA to the MOD 162.2 172.8 176.9 (2)— 
			 (1 )Tax and National Insurance on CEA paid to HMRC by the MOD on behalf of the individual. (2) Not yet available

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether (a) Mastiff, (b) Ridgback, (c) Warrior, (d) Panther, (e) Coyote, (f) Husky, (g) Warthog, (h) Wolfhound and (i) Jackal vehicles can be transported on An-124 aircraft leased under the NATO Strategic Airlift Interim Solution;
	(2)  how many (a) Mastiff, (b) Ridgback, (c) Warrior, (d) Panther, (e) Coyote, (f) Husky, (g) Warthog, (h) Wolfhound and (i) Jackal vehicles may be transported on (i) An-124, (ii) C-17 and (iii) C-130 aircraft per flight.

Peter Luff: Mastiff, Ridgback, Warrior, Panther, Coyote, Husky, Warthog, Wolfhound and Jackal vehicles can be transported on chartered Antonov AN-124 and the RAF C17 aircraft. However, Mastiff, Ridgback, Warrior, Warthog and Wolfhound cannot be transported on the RAF C130K and C130J variants of the Hercules aircraft as their physical dimensions exceed cargo hold limitations.
	The following table provides details of the total number of each vehicle type that can be carried on a single aircraft.
	
		
			 Vehicle type AN-124 C-17 C-130K C-130J 
			 Mastiff 3 2 (1)— (1)— 
			 Ridgback 4 2 (1)— (1)— 
		
	
	
		
			 Warrior 2 1 (1)— (1)— 
			 Panther 10 5 1 1 
			 Coyote 6 3 1 1 
			 Husky 6 2 1 1 
			 Warthog 4 1 (1)— (1)— 
			 Wolfhound 3 2 (1)— (1)— 
			 Jackal 11 5 1 1 
			 (1) Not transported.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what recent progress his Department has made on the Future Rapid Effect System Utility Vehicle programme; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent estimate he has made of the total cost of the Future Rapid Effect System Utility Vehicle programme.
	(3)  what estimate he has made of how many vehicles will be supplied to the armed forces under the Future Rapid Effect System Utility Vehicle programme.

Peter Luff: The Future Rapid Effect System has been recast from a single programme into a set of constituent programmes, one of which is the utility vehicle programme. The Department continues to examine the best way to take the utility vehicle programme forward. The total cost of the utility vehicle programme and platform numbers will be confirmed when the main investment decision is taken. The Department does not publish such estimates before this point as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate he has made of how many vehicles will be supplied to the armed forces under the Terrier programme.

Peter Luff: Terrier is an armoured earthmoving vehicle that will provide an improved capability to support mobility, counter-mobility and survivability throughout the spectrum of conflict. 60 vehicles will be supplied.

Civil Service: Pensions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the size was of the pension liability in respect of his Department's civil servants in each year since 1997; and what actuarial forecasts his Department has made of such liabilities in future years.

Andrew Robathan: The capitalised value of the liability in respect of all members contributing to the principal civil service pension scheme is shown each year in the report of the actuary contained in the Cabinet Office: civil superannuation accounts. Copies of the accounts up to 2009-10 can be found in the Library of the House. However, the liability in respect of civil servants serving in individual Departments is not recorded separately and this figure could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Civil Service: Pensions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cash equivalent transfer value is of pensions owed to current and former civil servants of his Department.

Andrew Robathan: Cash equivalent transfer values for civil servants on the Defence Board are shown in the remuneration report of the Department's annual resource accounts. Transfer values for the Department's other current civil servants or for any former civil servants are not routinely calculated, and these figures could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Civil Service: Pensions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average cash equivalent transfer value is of the pension of a civil servant in his Department at retirement.

Andrew Robathan: Cash equivalent transfer values for civil servants on the Defence Board are shown in the remuneration report of the Department's annual resource accounts. Transfer values for the Department's other current civil servants are not routinely calculated, and would vary depending upon personal circumstances and the section of the civil service pension scheme to which the member belongs. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Defence Capabilities

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the UK's current standing commitments are; what capabilities are deployed in order to meet these commitments in each case; and for what reasons each such commitment is essential to UK security or British interest.

Nick Harvey: holding answer 4 July 2011
	The Ministry of Defence has several standing commitments. These include strategic intelligence, the strategic nuclear deterrent, defence against direct threats to the UK and its overseas territories, counter-terrorism and military aid to the civil authorities. These roles are essential to the UK's safety and security and support key British interests around the world.
	A range of specialist capabilities are deployed in order to meet these commitments. I am withholding the detail of what these capabilities are and the reasons for the commitment, as their disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Defence Capabilities

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which defence projects were awaiting approval by his Department on the last date for which information is available.

Peter Luff: As at 30 June 2011, business cases for the following major projects had been submitted to the relevant departmental approval authority for decision. These include projects that are at various stages of the process from initial circulation, clarification of outstanding issues to a final decision.
	Elements of the Complex Weapons pipeline
	Elements of Nuclear Warhead Capability Sustainment Programme
	Core Production Capability
	Acquisition of new Chinooks
	Project Phoenix
	Maritime Equipment Transformation
	Seaseeker.

Defence Assistance Fund

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Defence Assistance Fund is in operation.

Liam Fox: The Defence Assistance Fund is a Ministry of Defence fund used to finance activities in support of bilateral defence relationships to strengthen international security and co-operation and remains in operation.

Defence: Equipment and Support

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether the Indirect Fire Precision Attack programme is included in the Gray Review;
	(2)  whether the Future Rapid Effect System programme is included in the Gray Review;
	(3)  whether the Merlin Capability Sustainment Programme is included in the Gray Review;
	(4)  whether the Beyond Visual Air-to-Air Missile programme is included in the Gray Review;
	(5)  whether the search and rescue helicopter project is included in the Gray Review.

Peter Luff: I am interpreting the Gray Review to be “The Materiel Strategy” currently being developed by the Chief of Defence Materiel. This will not address individual projects but will consider the Defence Equipment and Support organisation's performance more generally, including establishing its core role and how it can deliver its business most efficiently and effectively. This review will be coherent with Lord Levene's Defence Reform recommendations and my forthcoming White Paper which I expect to publish later this year. The Materiel Strategy will be implemented from early 2012 onwards.

Defence: Expenditure

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he plans to take to reduce expenditure through rationalisation of the defence estates.

Andrew Robathan: Following the strategic defence and security review the Ministry of Defence announced it would achieve cost reductions of up to £350 million per year on the defence estate. This includes those arising through the rationalisation of the estate, including the sale of surplus land and buildings, associated running cost savings and a revised approach to the way the Department manages and delivers infrastructure services.
	The creation of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation with effect from 1 April 2011 was the first major step to achieving these savings and will improve decision-making on estate and rationalisation issues.

Defence: Reform

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many consultants were employed by his Department to assist or participate in the Defence Reform Unit's independent report into the structure and management of his Department.

Liam Fox: holding answer 4 July 2011
	None.

Departmental Billing

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of invoices from small and medium-sized businesses were paid by his Department within five working days of receipt in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is a signatory to the Prompt Payment Code and is fully committed, along with the Department's trading partners, to pay all suppliers as quickly as possible.
	We aim to pay 80% of invoices within five working days. The following cumulative performance has been achieved, in the 12 months to 31 May 2011.
	
		
			  Number/Percentage 
			 Invoices paid 4,353,287 
			 Percentage within five day target 94.75 
		
	
	The five-day target and the above performance relate to all MOD suppliers, irrespective of size, as it would be impractical to differentiate between small and medium enterprises and others.

Departmental Manpower

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people were employed by his Department's (a) Defence Estates and (b) corporate services in (i) Scotland, (ii) England, (iii) Northern Ireland and (iv) Wales in each year since 2007.

Andrew Robathan: The headcount of employees in the Defence Estates organisation as at 1 April each year up to 2010 is shown in the following table. On 1 April 2011 the new Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) was established and the figure given reflects the new organisation.
	
		
			  Headcount 
			  As at April each year: 
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Defence Estates and Defence Infrastructure Organisation(1) Total(2) 2,800 2,630 2,600 2,750 3,120 
			       
			 Scotland 200 190 210 220 270 
			 England 2,120 2,100 2,100 2,260 2,520 
			 Northern Ireland 420 270 230 220 240 
			 Wales 60 60 60 60 90 
			 (1) Defence Infrastructure Organisation was formed as at 1 April 2011, comprising former Defence Estates TLB plus TLB property and facilities management functions previously situated within other TLBs. (2) Table excludes personnel employed outside the UK in overseas or unknown government regions. Note: All figures have been individually rounded to the nearest 10 and may not sum precisely to totals. 
		
	
	There is no single body of staff in the MOD defined as “corporate services”; depending on the definition adopted, staff from several different businesses might be included in the list.

Fire Services

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure effective co-operation between the Ministry of Defence Fire Service and fire and rescue services in the event of serious fire incidents at defence (a) research and (b) storage facilities; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether he has met officials from the Health and Safety Executive as part of its investigation into the response to the fires at Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment in August 2010;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the performance of the Ministry of Defence Fire Service in responding to the fires at Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment in August 2010.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 4 July 2011
	Fire services employed on the Ministry of Defence (MOD) estate have established plans that identify the respective roles and responsibilities of the MOD fire services and the local authority fire services in the event of fire incidents at Defence establishments. In support of the mutual co-operation and interoperability that already exists between these organisations, joint training and exercises are regularly undertaken, as are liaison visits to review risks and to ensure emergency responders maintain familiarity with the sites' facilities, hazards and operational procedures. These arrangements are in place at all Defence sites where MOD fire services are established, including research and storage facilities.
	Several local authority fire and rescue services responded to the fire at Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) on 3 August 2010, including Royal Berkshire, Hampshire and the London fire brigade, as well as the AWE fire and rescue service and the Defence Fire Risk Management Organisation (DFRMO). DFRMO has investigated the fire and rescue services' operational response to the fire. Their report, which was published on the MOD website on 9 June, identifies a number of learning points and provides recommendations to rectify those shortfalls identified in the fire services' response to the fire incident. The DFRMO report can be accessed via the following link:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/MicroSite/DES/OurPublications/HealthandSafety/
	I have also placed a copy of the report in the Library of the House, along with the DFRMO report on their investigation into the cause of the fire.
	There have been no meetings between MOD Ministers and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) concerning the latter's investigation into the fire at the Atomic Weapons Establishment and none have been needed, although MOD officials with regulatory responsibilities meet routinely with the HSE and other relevant bodies as part of their duties.

Helicopters

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many helicopters are under order by his Department; and when he expects them to be delivered.

Peter Luff: There are currently 62 Lynx Wildcat on order from AgustaWestland, of which 34 Lynx Wildcat (Army variant) are due to be delivered incrementally between 2012 and 2016, with the remaining 28 Lynx Wildcat (Navy variant) being delivered between 2013 and 2017. As announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, we plan to buy 12 additional Chinook helicopters for the RAF, as well as a further two to replace those lost on operations in Afghanistan in 2009. We continue to work closely with Boeing on the assessment phase of this programme prior to the main investment decision on these helicopters.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service pilots have flown field carrier landing practice missions; on which aircraft such missions have been flown; and how many such missions there have been.

Nick Harvey: Field carrier landing practice missions are not currently carried out by the Royal Navy or RAF. Individual pilots on secondment to the US Navy conduct such missions in T-45 Goshawk and F-18 Hornet aircraft, but information on the number of these missions is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Libya: Armed Conflict

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether officials of his Department involved in post-conflict planning in Libya have discussed the task with officials involved in post-conflict planning after the invasion of (a) Afghanistan in 2001 and (b) Iraq in 2003.

Nick Harvey: Officials have had many discussions regarding post-conflict planning. These discussions have involved those with previous experience of post-conflict planning to ensure that any appropriate lessons learnt from Afghanistan and Iraq are fed into the planning process.

Military Aircraft: Repairs and Maintenance

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many maintainers there are per airframe in the (a) RAF, (b) Fleet Air Arm and (c) Army Air Corps.

Peter Luff: holding answer 27 June 2011
	The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Aircraft maintenance is carried out by service personnel, Ministry of Defence civilians and as part of contractual agreements with industry across all three services.

NATO

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Weapon System Partnerships the UK has participated in through NATO's Maintenance and Supply Agency; and what the (a) partner country and (b) weapon system is in each case.

Gerald Howarth: The UK is a member of the following NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA) Weapon System Partnerships (WSP):
	Artillery Rocket and Missile Systems (ARMS) WSP with France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Turkey and USA. This partnership supports the Multiple Launch Rocket System.
	Helicopter WSP with Germany, Greece, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey and Austria. This partnership supports the overhaul and upgrade of Mi-17 helicopters for the Afghan theatre.
	Ship-Shore-Ship Buffer (SSSB) WSP with Denmark, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, and Turkey. This partnership supports maritime tactical data links.
	Ammunition WSP with Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and USA. This supports ammunition procurement and the disposal of obsolete or redundant items.
	Mobile Pipeline Repair Equipment (MPRE)/War Damage Repair (WARDAM) WSP with Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Turkey. This WSP supports the overhaul of high pressure and low pressure pumps, shock reducing valves and pressure reducing valves.
	Global Positioning Systems (GPS) WSP with Canada, Netherlands, and US. This WSP provides technical and engineering support for GPS systems.

RAF Menwith Hill: Manpower

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK national (a) full-time employees and (b) full-time equivalent employees there were at Menwith Hill on the most recent date for which figures are available; and in what capacity they are employed.

Nick Harvey: As of 30 June 2011 the following number of UK nationals were employed at RAF Menwith Hill:
	
		
			  Number 
			 Ministry of Defence 389 
			 Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency 165 
			 UK Contractors full-time 54 
			 UK Contractors part-time 24 
		
	
	I am withholding further information in the interests of national security.

Somalia: Armed Conflict

Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has allocated funding for the purposes of defence capacity building in Somaliland during the comprehensive spending review period.

Nick Harvey: holding answer 5 July 2011
	There are no plans to allocate Ministry of Defence funds to defence capacity building in Somaliland. The United Kingdom's contribution to security sector reform in Somaliland is carried out under the tri-departmental conflict prevention pool.

Timber

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make an assessment of the effects of his Department's policies on the availability of wood for commercial purposes.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence (MOD), its agencies and its non-departmental public bodies ensure compliance with Government policy on timber and wood derived products. The MOD has a standard condition that is used in all contracts where such products are to be supplied. It requires the contractor to obtain and retain evidence of sustainability for timber and wood-containing products delivered to the MOD and consumed during performance of contracts. We are not aware that any of the contractors have encountered problems sourcing sufficient supplies to meet our requirements. The Department has not assessed the effect of its purchasing strategy on the wider timber market.

Trident Submarines

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the potential savings to the public purse arising from a reduction in the number of operational warheads on the Vanguard class submarines to no more than 120.

Nick Harvey: We are reducing the number of operational warheads to demonstrate our commitment to maintaining only the minimum nuclear deterrent necessary. The resulting financial saving was not a factor in this decision, however we do expect to save some tens of millions of pounds over the next 10 years. This contributes to the overall £1.2 billion of savings on the deterrent programme identified in the strategic defence and security review.

CABINET OFFICE

Departmental Billing

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of invoices from small and medium-sized businesses were paid by his Department within five working days of receipt in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Francis Maude: The information requested for the Cabinet Office is not readily available and could not be obtained without exceeding the disproportionate cost threshold.
	For details of Cabinet Office invoices paid on time I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 29 June 2011, Official Report, column 843W, to the right hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr Denham).

Departmental Freedom of Information

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many requests under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received from (a) hon. Members from each political party and (b) members of the public in each year since the Act's entry into force.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office does not collect statistics about the background of individual requesters. This is because the Freedom of Information Act is applicant and motive blind and therefore it is not necessary to record or determine whether a requestor is a Member of Parliament or member of the public.
	The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the volume, timeliness and outcome of information requests received by over 40 central Government bodies.

Departmental Statistics

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what statistical data, other than official statistics, his Department has ceased to collect in the last 12 months; and what the (a) reasons for and (b) savings arising from each such cessation were.

Francis Maude: Over the last 12 months the Cabinet Office has ceased to collect the following statistical data:
	Horizon scan a programme of activity analysing the accounts of suppliers considered to be critical to Government delivery for signs of financial distress, and working with suppliers at risk of bankruptcy to turn situations around. There were two FTEs assigned to this work in the centre, with ad hoc support from senior commercial leaders. This work was stopped as it was overtaken by a new supplier management strategy;
	The Operational Efficiency Programme reporting: There was never a costing of this, however it incurred significant manpower costs for all the 100 plus organisations that completed it, from several man days for a small organisation to an estimate of several hundred man days for the largest completing organisation. This was stopped because it was considered highly inefficient to deliver poor quality data;
	The CAF supplier reporting: A six monthly statistical survey of our key IT suppliers, focusing on delivery quality, cost and efficacy; and of their customers. The manpower in the centre to support this was around two FTEs. A decision was taken to suspend the CAF process while consideration was given to recent work on the crown commercial portfolio, and launch of an alternative if necessary later in the year;
	The Government CPO has cancelled the programme of PSPES data survey on public sector procurement spend providing expenditure details by supply market category of every significant central Government organisation. There were two FTEs centrally leading this work. This was stopped as plans are under way to collect procurement spend data in a more efficient and timely manner as part of ERG's Centralising Commodity Procurement programme.
	The Government are committed to reducing statistical data collections as a way of reducing burdens and cost on all involved. There would be a disproportionate cost to accurately calculating what has been saved by stopping the collection of these data sets as work spanned across not just the Cabinet Office but resources across all central Government Departments involved in the completion of these exercises.

Employment

James Clappison: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of (a) UK nationals, (b) people born in the UK, (c) foreign nationals, (d) non-UK EU nationals and (e) non-EU foreign nationals (i) aged over 16 years and (ii) of working age were in employment in the UK in each of the last 12 quarters for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many and what proportion of (a) UK nationals, (b) people born in the UK, (c) foreign nationals, (d) non-UK EU nationals and (e) non-EU nationals (i) aged over 16 years and (ii) of working age were in employment in the UK in each of the last 12 quarters for which figures are available. 63837
	The requested information is provided in the attached table.
	Labour market statistics published in the monthly Labour Market Statistical Bulletin previously described as working age (men aged 16-64 and women aged 16-59) have now been replaced with statistics based on those aged 16-64 for both men and women. Consequently, the estimates provided have been produced on this basis.
	
		
			 Employment levels and rates  (1)   for people aged 16 and over, by nationality and country of birth  (2)  —Three months ending March, June, September, December, 2008 to 2011—United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			 Thousands and per  cent  age 
			   Aged over 16 years 
			   UK nationals Rate (%) UK born Rate (%) Foreign nationals Rate (%) Non-UK EU nationals Rate (%) Non-EU nationals Rate (%) 
			 2008 Q2 27,138 60 25,729 60 2,306 63 1,084 70 1,222 58 
			 2008 Q3 27,167 60 25,762 60 2,323 64 1,069 70 1,254 59 
			 2008 Q4 27,008 59 25,565 60 2,383 64 1,075 69 1,307 60 
			 2009 Q1 26,713 59 25,251 59 2,354 63 1,119 69 1,235 59 
			 2009 Q2 26,494 58 25,063 58 2,311 62 1,104 69 1,207 57 
			 2009 Q3 26,702 58 25,276 59 2,272 63 1,085 69 1,187 59 
			 2009 Q4 26,671 58 25,236 58 2,297 62 1,070 68 1,228 58 
			 2010 Q1 26,459 58 25,012 58 2,262 61 1,077 67 1,185 56 
			 2010 Q2 26,502 58 25,053 58 2,414 62 1,182 69 1,232 57 
			 2010 Q3 26,881 58 25,391 59 2,412 64 1,213 70 1,199 59 
			 2010 Q4 26,777 58 25,278 58 2,414 64 1,218 70 1,196 58 
			 2011 Q1(3) 26,636 58 25,089 58 2,501 63 1,308 70 1,193 57 
		
	
	
		
			 Employment levels and rates  (1)   for people aged 16 to 64, by nationality and country of birth  (2)  —Three months ending March, June, September, December, 2008 to 2011—United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			 Thousands and percentage 
			   Aged 16 to 64 years 
			   UK nationals Rate (%) UK born Rate (%) Foreign nationals Rate (%) Non-UK EU nationals Rate (%) Non-EU nationals Rate (%) 
			 2008 Q2 26,461 73 25,088 73 2,288 68 1,073 78 1,214 61 
			 2008 Q3 26,499 73 25,127 74 2,303 69 1,058 78 1,245 62 
			 2008 Q4 26,323 73 24,912 73 2,362 68 1,062 77 1,300 63 
			 2009 Q1 26,022 72 24,600 72 2,333 68 1,105 77 1,228 62 
			 2009 Q2 25,788 71 24,399 71 2,287 66 1,086 76 1,201 59 
			 2009 Q3 25,975 71 24,588 72 2,248 68 1,068 76 1,180 61 
			 2009 Q4 25,923 71 24,529 72 2,279 67 1,058 76 1,221 61 
			 2010 Q1 25,694 70 24,286 71 2,245 66 1,067 75 1,178 59 
			 2010 Q2 25,701 71 24,287 71 2,391 67 1,169 76 1,222 60 
			 2010 Q3 26,052 71 24,608 72 2,391 68 1,204 76 1,187 62 
			 2010 Q4 25,927 71 24,468 71 2,391 68 1,206 77 1,185 61 
			 2011 Q1(3) 25,770 71 24,277 71 2,480 68 1,296 77 1,184 60 
			 (1) Includes self-employed and unpaid family workers. (2) Excludes those whose nationality and/or country of birth was not known. (3) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates, as described below: Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220 Key: * 0 = CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Note: It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels mobile home sites etc.) Source: Labour Force Survey (LFS)

Departmental Statistics

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what (a) longitudinal and (b) other (i) research and (ii) collection of data the Office of National Statistics has (A) initiated, (B) terminated and (C) amended in the last 12 months.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated July 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what (a) longitudinal and (b) other (i) research and (ii) collection of data the Office of National Statistics has (A) initiated, (B) terminated and (C) amended in the last 12 months. 63666
	Information in the form requested is not readily available and could be obtained (compiled) only at disproportionate cost.

EDUCATION

GCE A-level

Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of (a) modern schools, (b) comprehensive schools, (c) selective schools, (d) independent schools, (e) sixth form colleges and (f) other further education sector colleges with post-16 provision offer an A-level in (i) mathematics, (ii) further mathematics, (iii) physics and (iv) chemistry;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of (a) modern schools, (b) comprehensive schools, (c) selective schools, (d) independent schools, (e) sixth form colleges and (f) other further education sector colleges with post-16 provision offer an A-level in (i) biology, (ii) English literature, (iii) history, (iv) geography and (v) at least one foreign language;
	(3)  how many and what proportion of (a) modern schools, (b) comprehensive schools, (c) selective schools, (d) independent schools, (e) sixth form colleges and (f) other further education sector colleges with post-16 provision offer an A-level in (i) accounting, (ii) art and design, (iii) business studies, (iv) communication and culture, (v) dance, (vi) design and technology, (vii) drama or theatre studies, (viii) electronics, (ix) film studies, (x) home economics, (xi) information and communication technology, (xii) law, (xiii) media studies, (xiv) music technology, (xv) sports studies, (xvi) travel and tourism and (xvii) environmental studies.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 27 June 2011
	The available information has been placed in the House Libraries.

GCSE

Nadhim Zahawi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what proportion of marks in all (a) GCSE and (b) A-level examinations are given for (i) coursework and (ii) written examinations in (A) 1997 and (B) 2010;
	(2)  what proportion of (a) GCSE and (b) A-level examinations sat in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2010 contained a coursework element;
	(3)  what proportion of GCSE examinations sat in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2010 were taken in modules.

Nick Gibb: The information can be found on Pages 7 and 8 of the Qualification and Curriculum Authority's 2005 report “A review of GCE and GCSE coursework arrangements”:
	http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/q/qcda%20cousework%20report.pdf
	GCSE weightings for all new specifications, most of which were first examined in 2011, can be found in the National Archives information on controlled assessments:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/2421.aspx
	We do not have access to data from 1997.
	Paragraphs 6 and 7 of Ofqual's advice to the Secretary of State on unitisation of GCSEs giving figures for the proportion of candidates taking assessment in a linear way this summer can be found on the following link:
	http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/news-and-announcements/83/660

GCSE: Assessments

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what results pupils of each school of the Schools Partnership Trust achieved in GCSE examinations in each of the last 10 years; and what the rate of (a) truancy and (b) (i) temporary and (ii) permanent exclusion was in each school in each such year.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 28 June 2011
	The available information for state-funded secondary schools in the Schools Partnership Trust is shown in the following table.
	Information for Garforth Academy and Rossington All Saints Academy is not available as these schools opened in November 2010 and April 2011 respectively.
	
		
			 GCSE examination results, rates of authorised and unauthorised absence and percentage of fixed period and permanent exclusions in state-funded schools in the School Partnership Trust 2009/10 
			  Percentage of pupils achieving 5+ A*-C GCSEs (or equivalent) including English and maths GCSEs Authorised absence rate  (1) Unauthorised rate  (1) Percentage of fixed period exclusions  (2) Percentage of permanent exclusions  (2) 
			 De Warenne Academy 30 6.61 2.27 (3)— (3)— 
			 South Leeds Academy 29 8.47 6.01 (3)— (3)— 
			 (1) The number of sessions missed due to authorised/unauthorised absence expressed as a percentage of the total number of possible sessions. (2) The number of permanent/fixed period exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of all pupils (excluding dually registered). (3) Not available. Exclusion data for 2009/10 is due to be published at the end of July 2011.

Health Education: Sex

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to ensure that maintained schools are prevented from teaching aspects of sex and relationships education in science lessons that are not covered by the national curriculum for science as part of his Department's review of personal, social, health and economic education.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 5 July 2011
	We trust teachers to use their professional judgement when following the national curriculum programmes of study for science. We do not therefore consider it necessary to impose preventative measures on maintained schools to stop them teaching sex and relationship education (SRE) within national curriculum science lessons.
	SRE is covered in personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education which will be subject to an internal review.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils were eligible for free school meals in (a) Worcestershire and (b) Redditch constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Maintained nursery, state-funded primary, state-funded secondary  (1,2,3)   and special schools  (4)  : Free school meal eligibility  (5,6)  . As at January 2011 in Worcestershire local authority and Redditch parliamentary constituency 
			  Maintained nursery and state-funded primary schools  (1,2) State-funded secondary schools  (1,3) Special schools  (4) 
			  No. on roll  (5) No. of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals  (5,6) % known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals  (5,6) No. on roll  (5) No. of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals  (5,6) % known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals  (5,6) No. on roll  (5) No. of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals  (5,6) % known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals  (5,6) 
			 Worcestershire local authority 36,624 5,225 14.3 32,475 3,838 11.8 958 309 32.3 
		
	
	
		
			 Redditch parliamentary constituency 4,553 883 19.4 6,107 1,010 16.5 149 59 39.6 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies. (4) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools, excludes general hospital schools. (5) Includes sole and dual (main) registrations. (6) Pupils known to be eligible for and claiming for tree school meals who have full-time attendance and are aged 15 or under, or pupils who have part-time attendance and are aged between five and 15. Source: School Census 
		
	
	The latest information, for January 2011, on free school meal eligibility and other school and pupil information can be found at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001012/index.shtml

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils were eligible for free school meals in (a) Dartford constituency and (b) Kent in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Maintained nursery, state-funded primary, state-funded secondary  (1,2,3)   and special schools  (4)  : Free school meal eligibility  (5,6)  . As at January 2011 in Dartford parliamentary constituency and Kent local authority 
			  Maintained nursery and state-funded primary schools  (1,2) State-funded secondary schools  (1,3) Special schools  (4) 
			  No. on roll  (5) No. of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals  (5,6) % known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals  (5,6) No. on roll  (5) No. of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals  (5,6) % known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals  (5,6) No. on roll  (5) No. of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals  (5,6) % known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals  (5,6) 
			 Dartford parliamentary constituency 8,304 1,111 13.4 6,800 596 8.8 293 82 28.0 
			 Kent local authority 106,298 16,217 15.3 81,714 9,435 11.5 2,763 872 31.6 
			 (1 )Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies. (4) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools, excludes general hospital schools. (5) Includes sole and dual (main) registrations. 6 Pupils known to be eligible for and claiming for free school meals who have full-time attendance and are aged 15 or under, or pupils who have part-time attendance and are aged between five and 15. Source: School Census 
		
	
	The latest information, for January 2011, on free school meal eligibility and other school and pupil information can be found at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001012/index.shtml

Religion: English Baccalaureate

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received on the exclusion of religious education from the English Baccalaureate; and if he will place copies of such representations in the Library.

Nick Gibb: The Department has received 2,592 pieces of correspondence about religious education and the English Baccalaureate since September 2010. Due to the high volume it is not practical to place copies in the Library but the key points made are covered in the records of the Westminster Hall debate on 17 May,
	Official Report
	, column 27WH, and in evidence given by religious education organisations to the Education Select Committee.

Schools: Buildings

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of (a) actual and (b) potential capital expenditure on school buildings for each year from 2009-10 to 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: Decisions on investment in schools are made locally and the Department does not collect data on, or make forecasts of, expenditure on school buildings. Most of the capital which the Department allocates to local authorities for schools is not ring-fenced. Up to 2010-11, significant amounts of the funding allocated to local authorities were in the form of supported borrowings, and local authorities may not fully have raised their nominal allocations. Local authorities and schools may use other sources of funding in addition to the funding they are allocated by the Department.
	For the spending review period from 2011-12 until 2014-15, the Department has capital resources of £15.9 billion.

Schools: Transport

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many free school bus passes were given to children in (a) Nottinghamshire and (b) England in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11; and how many such passes he expects to be issued in 2011-12.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 30 June 2011
	The information requested is not collected centrally for England. Department for Education officials have forwarded the question to the chief executive at Nottinghamshire county council with a request to supply any available information directly to the hon. Member.

Social Workers: Manpower

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children's social workers were employed by bodies other than local authorities in 2010-11.

Tim Loughton: The Department does not collect this data and is therefore unable to provide the requested information. Analysis of the GSCC's Social Care register at March 2007 suggested that 7,700 of the 76,300 social workers registered at that time were being employed outside local authorities.